Construction spending during January was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,279.6 billion, 1.3% above the revised December estimate of $1,263.1 billion, the Census Bureau reported. The January figure is 0.3% above the January 2018 estimate of $1,276.3 billion.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in January increased $0.9 billion or 0.4% to $255.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This increase, up three consecutive months, followed a 1.3% December increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.1%. Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.7%. Transportation equipment, up five of the last six months, drove the increase, $1.0 billion or 1.2% to $90.9 billion.

The Producer Price Index for final demand edged up 0.1% in February, as prices for final demand goods rose 0.4%, while the index for final demand services was unchanged, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The final demand index increased 1.9% for the 12 months ended in February.

ON THIS DATE: In 1629, a Royal charter was granted to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin. In 1900, U.S. currency went on the gold standard with the ratification of the Gold Standard Act. In 1914, Henry Ford announced the new continuous motion method to assemble cars. The process decreased the time to make a car from 12½ hours to 93 minutes. In 1951, U.N. forces recaptured Seoul for the second time during the Korean War. In 1964, a Dallas jury found Jack Ruby guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man charged in the assassination of President John Kennedy. In 1995, astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to enter space aboard a Russian rocket. In 1996, President Bill Clinton committed $100 million for an anti-terrorism pact with Israel to track down and root out Islamic militants.