UK April construction PMI 46.6 vs 45.8 expected

  • Prior 46.4

The downturn in UK construction is seen easing a little, with house building showing some resilience. However, commercial work continues to decline and this time at its quickest pace since May 2020. So, that remains a drag. The overall sector is still in a challenging spot but at least there are some green shoots. S&P Global notes that:

“UK construction companies have endured a bumpy ride since the start of the year as domestic economic headwinds and hesitancy among clients led to a lack of new work to replace completed contracts.

“Output levels continued to slide in April, but the rate of decline eased to its slowest for three months. This was helped by slower reductions in residential building work and civil engineering activity.

“Commercial construction was a weak spot and lost momentum since March. Output decreased at the fastest pace for nearly five years amid reports of greater risk aversion among clients and a wait-and-see approach to major spending decisions.

“Despite a sharp and accelerated fall in input buying, strong cost pressures persisted in April. Overall input price inflation eased only slightly from March’s 26-month peak. Survey respondents commented on rising prices paid for a range of raw materials, as well as efforts by suppliers to pass on greater payroll costs.

“An encouraging development in April was a slight improvement in business activity expectations for the year ahead. Output growth projections improved to the highest level so far this year, with a number of survey respondents citing the prospect of a turnaround in workloads across the residential building segment.”

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.