The value of construction contracts dipped in April.

The F. W. Dodge division of McGraw-Hill Information Systems reported that April contracts for new construction were valued at an annual rate of $226.6 billion, down 1% from the record $227.7-billion pace of March. During April, commercial and industrial building contracting rose a seasonally adjusted 7% to a record annual rate of $82 billion, and contracting for public works and utilities climbed 13% to $44.1 billion. But residential contracting fell 11% to $100.5 billion, the report said. The Dodge index of construction contract value dipped to 161 in April from 162 in March. The index stood at 100 in the base year of 1977.