Construction sector firms up in August

Despite being on firmer ground the sector is till shrinking.

The contraction of the UK construction sector slowed in August after it stalled in the aftermath of the EU referendum in July, datafromIHS Markit Economics has revealed.

The city had forecast that sectors headline index would only hit 46.1 in August - up from 45.9 in July.

However the market defied expectations hitting 49.2 in August.

But the sector continued to shrinkas any number below 50 signals contraction.

Housebuilding rose to 48.2 from 45.6, while commercial rose to 48.2 from 43.9.

The dataalso found that new order volumes fell but the reduction was at the slowest level sinceMay. As a result staffing

Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, said:"The latest survey indicates only a partial move towards stabilisation, rather than a return to business as usual across the construction sector.

"There were still widespread reports that Brexit uncertainty had dampened demand and slowed progress on planned developments, especially in relation to large projects.

"The move towards stabilisation chimes with the more upbeat UK manufacturing PMI data for August, and provides hope that the near-term fallout from Brexit uncertainty will prove less severe than feared.