The warmest January in more than 100 years lured consumers out to the shopping malls to spend money at the fastest clip in six months.

The Commerce Department reported that personal spending surged 0.9 percent in January, the biggest advance in six months.

But another report showed that construction spending managed only a 0.2 percent increase in January, the weakest gain in seven months and far below the 1 percent that analysts had been expecting.

A big reason for the slowdown was a tiny 0.1 percent increase in private home building, the poorest monthly performance since an actual decline of 0.4 percent last June. It was a further indication that residential construction is beginning to slow.