LONDON: The British construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) decline to 58.8 in October, down from 59.9 in September, but still well above the 50.0 no-change threshold, said data supplier Markit on Tuesday.
The latest survey marked two-and-a-half years of sustained output growth across the British construction sector. While the pace of expansion remained weaker than seen on average in 2014, the latest reading was comfortably above the pre-election low recorded in April (54.2).
Data showed that higher levels of activity were recorded across all three broad categories of construction monitored by the survey.
However, housing activity growth eased from September’s 12-month high, and the latest rise in civil engineering was the slowest since May. Commercial building work increased at the sharpest pace for eight months, which was a key growth driver in October.
“October’s survey indicates that the UK construction sector remains firmly in expansion mode, although commercial building work was the only category to experience faster growth than in September. Rather than acting as a drag on the economy, as suggested by recent GDP estimates, the sector is continuing to act as an important driving force behind the ongoing UK economic upturn,” Tim Moore, Senior Economist at Markit commented.
