UK construction output rebounded slightly in November with new business activity at its highest since June, according to the latest Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI index.
According to the survey, the improvement was mostly confined to the residential sector with continued reductions in commercial, building and civil engineering.
Adjusted for seasonal influences, the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose from 50.8 in October to 53.1 in November, to remain above the 50.0 no-change value for the second month running.
The latest reading was the highest for five months and signalled a solid rate of business activity growth across the construction sector.
Housebuilding projects were the primary growth engine for construction activity. According to survey respondents, this continued residential growth was driven by continued demand and supportive government policy.
Commercial construction continued to struggle and was the weakest performing area of activity in November, this continued the trend seen for much of 2017 so far.
Tim Moore, associate director at IHS Markit and author of the IHS Markit/CIPS Construction PMI, said: “UK construction companies experienced a solid yet uneven improvement in business conditions during November.
“Once again, resilient housebuilding growth helped to offset lower volumes of commercial work and civil engineering activity. Construction firms reported that heightened economic and political uncertainty continued to hold back commercial development activity.
“The latest drop in civil engineering was linked to a recent lack of tender opportunities for infrastructure-related projects.
“Business optimism across the construction sector remained relatively subdued, but picked up from the near five-year low seen in October. This represented the first improvement in confidence for three months, which construction firms attributed to increased sales enquiries and hopes that risk aversion among clients will recede over the course of next year.”
