But that doesn ’ t mean nonresidential construction contractors can relax . Last week , planning activity saw a modest dip and growth in the Architectural Billings Index , another harbinger of future construction demand , slowed . But both remained in positive territory for the year ( see chart on next page ).
The increasingly optimistic outlook among commercial construction contractors was reported on the same day August ’ s inflation report came in hotter than expected , tanking financial markets on Wall Street . The consumer price index unexpectedly rose 0.1 % in August , and was up 8.3 % for the year , despite a recent fall in fuel prices .
It ’ s one of the last broad economic indicators members of the Federal Reserve ’ s Open Markets Committee will see before their meeting later this month to consider further interest rate hikes . Economists were expecting CPI to shrink modestly for the month .