UK Construction Shrinks in February Weather Blamed

Output in the construction industry fell sharply in February as extreme weather halted work on building sites, official figures have shown.

Output fell by 2.8% – £270m – compared with a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

But in the three months to the end of February, construction output grew 0.3% compared with the previous quarter.

Despite signs of improvement, the construction industry remains 13.2% below its pre recession peak.

The ONS said the heavy rain and flooding that marked the wettest winter on record had caused delays in building work.

It added that repairs of flood damage had not yet filtered through to its data.

The fall in February’s construction output was the biggest monthly decline since November 2013 and dragged the annual growth figure lower.

The ONS said construction output increased 2.8% in the year to February, compared with a 5.7% increase in January.

Output measures the amount charged by construction companies to customers for the work they do.

via BBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.