Construction spending drops less than expected

After two straight months of gains, private residential construction spending fell 0.4 percent in May, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. Total construction spending slipped just 0.2 percent below April's estimate. Economists, however, predicted deeper decreases due to plunging new home sales after the expiration of the tax credit. Steven Wood, president of Insight Economics, said homebuilding has shown very little recovery from an extremely low level. More here, here, and here.