UK Construction Slows Down in December

January 5, 2015 Share Print 0

Activity in the UK’s construction sector grew at its slowest pace for 17 months in December but remains robust thanks to continued growth in housebuilding, a survey has found.

The closely watched Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 57.6 from 59.4 a month earlier.

The index remains above the 50-mark which indicates growth in the sector.

Housebuilding continued to drive construction activity, but grew at its slowest pace since June 2013.

The weakest construction sub-sector in December was civil engineering, which reported a fall in output for the first time since May 2013.

Despite the slowdown in December, Markit said housebuilders overall had enjoyed their best year since 1997.

Construction companies also reported “a solid increase in new business volumes in December”, Markit said.

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.