Construction spending missed estimates on Wall Street amid high-interest-rate environment

Construction spending fell in March as U.S. companies and the government scaled back projects across the nation amid high interest rates.

Spending on construction projects fell 0.2% in March to $2.08 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The figure fell short of expectations on Wall Street. Economists were expecting construction spending to rise 0.3% in March.

Construction spending reveals how much the government and private companies spend on projects including housing and highways. The more the U.S. spends on construction, the higher the level of economic activity.

The government revised spending on construction in February to a flat reading, from an initial report of a 0.3% drop.

Over the past year, construction spending is up 9.6%.

In terms of residential real estate, private residential construction fell 0.7% in March, with single-family construction falling 0.2% and multifamily construction falling 0.6%.

Spending on public residential construction rose by 0.5%.