UK construction PMI drops sharply to 52.9 in August, a big miss on expectations

The construction sector activity in the UK economy grew at the weakest pace in three months in the month of August, a fresh report from Markit Economics showed on Tuesday.

The final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 52.9 in August, down from a 14-month peak of 55.8 seen in July while missing estimates by a big margin (55.0 expected).

Key Points:

The modest overall rise in construction activity.

Suppliers’ delivery times lengthen to the greatest extent since March 2015.

Input cost inflation eases to 25-month low.

Tim Moore, Senior Economist at IHS Markit and author of the Markit/CIPS Construction PMI®, noted:

“The construction sector slipped back into a slower growth phase in August, with this summer’s catchup effect starting to unwind after projects were delayed by adverse weather at the start of 2018.”

“Civil engineering was the worst performing area of the construction sector, with output in this category falling for the first time since March amid reports citing a lack of new work on infrastructure projects. House building saw a particularly sharp slowdown since July, meaning that commercial construction was the fastest growing sub-sector in August.”