Growth in Britain’s construction sector hit its fastest pace in six months in September, boosted by stronger house building and higher levels of hiring, a survey showed on Friday.
The CIPS/Markit construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 59.9 in September, its strongest level since February, up from 57.3 in August.
That was well above the median forecast of 57.5 in a Reuters poll but below levels of more than 60 reached regularly in 2014.
A reading of British manufacturing on Thursday showed weaker growth and added to signs the overall economy slowed in the third quarter, something the Bank of England is watching closely as it considers when to start raising interest rates.
Analysts are waiting for the CIPS/Markit survey on the dominant services sector, which is due on Monday, to get a better understanding of how much Britain’s economy has cooled in the July-September period.
Staffing levels in construction rose strongly in September although new business growth eased further from a peak touched in June and was its second slowest since mid-2013, Markit said.
Expansion of residential building was the strongest for 12 months as some projects that were delayed earlier this year were launched. Commercial development also picked up speed as companies invested more in their operations.
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.
Dean Popplewell
He has a deep understanding of market fundamentals and the impact of global events on capital markets.
He is respected among professional traders for his skilled analysis and career history as global head
of trading for firms such as Scotia Capital and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since joining OANDA in 2006, Dean
has played an instrumental role in driving awareness of the forex market as an emerging asset class
for retail investors, as well as providing expert counsel to a number of internal teams on how to best
serve clients and industry stakeholders.
Latest posts by Dean Popplewell (see all)
- Euro zone bond yields sink as German manufacturing slows - 24 July 2019
- How Boris Johnson Plans to Deliver Brexit in 100 Days - 24 July 2019
- Weak PMI’s Sink EUR - 24 July 2019