US DATA: Sep construct spending +0.2%, slightly below the +0.3%
expected. A sharp downward revision to July spending was only partially
offset by an slight upward revision in August. Private constr +0.6%,
public building -0.6%. Private residential spending +0.9%, with 1-fam
building +0.5% and multi-family building +0.2%. An MNI calculation show
residential building excluding new homes +1.4% after a flat Aug reading.
Private nonresidential building +0.3% to a near 2-year high level, but a
number of key sectors actually saw construction spending declines in the
month. The large drop in public spending was due to a 6.8% decline in
Federal spending, offsetting the +0.1% in State and Local govt spending.