UK construction activity picks up in February – IHS Markit

Activity in the UK’s construction industry picked up at a better than expected pace in February, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth in the sector following the UK’s summer Brexit vote.

IHS Markit’s monthly survey of purchasing managers revealed an uptick to 52.5 last month from 52.2 in January – driven by higher output in the civil engineering sector. (Any reading above 50 indicates growth.) Housebuilding output however dropped to to a six-month low, with firms reporting the first fall in commercial building activity since October.

Britain’s construction industry accounts for just under 10 per cent of the country’s GDP. Markit’s February survey for the manufacturing sector showed activity had expanded at its slowest pace in three months.

Overall growth in the construction sector remains “on a relatively slow growth trajectory”, said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit.

Chart via Bloomberg