Gold Prices Fall Amid Rate Jitters; Copper Steady as China Stimulus Eyed 
Construction spending in the US rose 0.6% m/m in September, in line with forecast (0.6%) and one-tenth above consensus expectations. The rise was driven by residential construction spending, which was up at both the private and public levels. Private residential spending rose 1.8% on the month, the sixth consecutive monthly increase, as single-family spending rose 1.3%, multi-family spending rose 4.9%, and home improvement increased 1.5%. These data are consistent with incoming data on housing starts in Q3 and last week's GDP report, which showed residential investment spending rising by 6.1% q/q saar. Although volatile, multi-family start activity has underpinned the recovery in residential construction spending for some time, it is believed this trend will continue as labor markets support rates of household formation, particularly among younger households. Elsewhere in the report, residential construction spending was down 0.1% in September, with a -0.7% m/m decline in private nonresidential spending offset somewhat by a 0.7% rise in public nonresidential construction spending.
"We view this outturn as broadly consistent with the decline in structures investment in the advance release of Q3 GDP", says Barclays.
On net, the September data and revisions to prior months offset each other after rounding. Our Q3 GDP tracking estimate remains unchanged at 1.5%. Relative to the BEA's assumptions incorporated in the advance estimate of Q3 GDP, this morning's data show stronger private residential construction activity in August and September and imply a modest upward revision to Q3 residential investment growth. Weaker-than-assumed private nonresidential construction spending suggests a downward revision to nonresidential structures investment, however. Elsewhere, state and local government construction came in modestly above BEA assumptions.
