UK Construction Output Falls for Third Month in September – ONS

British construction output fell unexpectedly for a third consecutive month in September, in figures that confirm the sector’s drag on growth in the third quarter, official data showed on Friday.

Construction output fell 0.2 percent in September, after a hefty 3.4 percent decline in August and against expectations for a 1.5 percent rise, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.

On the year, it dropped 1.6 percent in September, the biggest drop over two years and against forecasts for a smaller 0.3 percent decline in a Reuters poll.

The figures confirmed an earlier ONS estimate that construction fell 2.2 percent in the third quarter, making it the biggest drag on overall economic growth over that period.

A preliminary reading last month showed British gross domestic product slowing to 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent in the second quarter.

The ONS said the weakness in the third quarter construction output was partly down to a marked fall in construction by smaller firms in August due to bad weather and longer holidays taken.

Reuters

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