- Prior 62.1
- Highest for over 6 years
- Housing activity highest since Nov 2003
- Employment sees 8 straight months of gains
UK Markit construction PMI 04 02 2014
Another great read from this sector and it keeps on growing. The one thing we have to bear in mind with construction is that it’s a long term indicator as opposed to manufacturing or services and given the current boom in foreign buying it’s likely to remain strong for some time.
Cable loves is and it’s been worth 42 pips to 1.6342 and 256 to EUR/GBP which is down to 0.8266
One slight downside to the report is the fact that material suppliers are struggling to meet demand. It could start to push costs up somewhat, but on the flipside it could mean that activity (jobs, production etc) will also pick up on the supply side too. In the short term, if it continues ,it could hamper construction but I wouldn’t think it would be too much of a problem.
Tim Moore at Markit notes;
“January’s survey provides reassurance that the UK construction recovery remains on track. The latest data show positive developments on a number of fronts, with job creation rebounding at the start of the year while output and new business growth was the fastest since the summer of 2007. Housing activity growth now stands at its strongest for just over a decade, boosted by growing demand for new homes and improving confidence within the UK property market. Meanwhile, strengthening domestic economic conditions spurred greater spending on commercial projects in January. A sharp rise in civil engineering activity completed an impressive showing from all three sub-categories of construction monitored by the survey.”
