The rebound in Britain’s construction industry continued apace in March, adding to signs of a recovering economy.
The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index was 56.4, only fractionally weaker than the eight-month high of 56.5 set in February. Cost inflation intensified again, reaching the highest since mid-2008.
Within the main sectors of construction, civil engineering recorded the fastest increase, followed by residential construction, which rose for a third successive month. Commercial was the weakest performing sector.
Sarah Ledger, an economist at Markit, said: “The data add to the generally positive flow of data that have been seen since the new year, adding to evidence that the economy rebounded strongly from the surprise contraction of GDP in the final quarter of last year.
“Whether the resurgent growth will prove long-lasting remains in doubt. Worryingly, new order growth slowed more notably than that of activity in March, pointing to a slowdown in activity over the coming months, especially if the pattern is sustained.”
Advertisement
Separate numbers from the Bank of England showed that the homeowners added £7 billion of equity into their houses in the fourth quarter, the most since records began in 1970.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist of IHS Global Insight said: “The record, and eleventh successive, net injection of housing equity in the fourth quarter of 2010 highlights the strong desire and perceived need of many people to improve their personal balance sheets given high debt levels and serious concerns and uncertainties over the economic situation.
“Furthermore, extremely low savings interest rates have made it much more attractive for many people to use any spare funds that they have to reduce their mortgages.”