UK construction companies recorded a sustained expansion of overall business activity in October, led by another solid increase in residential work. New order volumes also picked up across the construction sector, but the rate of growth eased since September and remained weaker than seen prior to this summer. This contributed to a drop in business confidence regarding the year-ahead growth outlook, with the latest reading the secondlowest since May 2013. At the same time, input costs rose at one of the fastest rates seen over the past five years, which survey respondents widely linked to the weaker pound.
At 52.6 in October, the seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index edged up from 52.3 in September and remained above the 50.0 nochange threshold for the second month running.
The latest reading pointed to the fastest upturn in activity since March, although the rate of growth was only modest and still much softer than the average since the recovery began three-and-a-half years ago (57.3).
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