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Construction sector around the world badly affect from the poor weather, in the United Kingdom (UK), the construction industry contracted unexpectedly in December as the snow hit building sites, a survey has found.It was the first shrinkage in the sector since February, according to the Markit survey of industry executives.
Their UK Construction Purchasing Managers Index fell from to 49.1 in December - below market expectations of a 50.9 reading.A level below 50 indicates contraction, which in this case was due in large part to the adverse weather conditions."Many constructors indicated that poor weather conditions had negatively impacted on activity," said Markit in its report.Employment fell sharply in the month, and Markit's researchers noted that some companies said they planned further redundancies.
Economists generally saw the sector slowing after November's reading of 51.8 but to stay in growth territory, with the consensus forecast for a reading of 50.9. Only commercial construction activity managed to expand last month, and even there the rate of growth was the slowest in almost a year. Housebuilding saw its sharpest contraction since April 2009 and civil engineering activity also declined.
Poor weather was only part of the story - the construction index has been in a downward trend since peaking in the middle of last year, led by a particularly pronounced fall in residential building activity. The slowdown in construction may prove significant for the wider UK economy, after an apparent building boom over the summer helped to boost UK growth figures in the second and third quarters of the year.
December marked the third consecutive month of decreases in input buying for construction companies. Higher raw material prices have led to the fastest rate of inflation for seven months, or above the long-run series average.Slow new order growth led to employment levels falling sharply for December, with some companies indicating further redundancies.
Source ;
#1. BBC News - UK construction hit by December snow
#2. Guardian - Construction sector hit by bad weather and coalition cuts
#3. The Telegraph - Tough winter puts UK construction sector into contraction
Source ;
#1. BBC News - UK construction hit by December snow
#2. Guardian - Construction sector hit by bad weather and coalition cuts
#3. The Telegraph - Tough winter puts UK construction sector into contraction
