LONDON: Growth across Britain’s construction industry picked up slightly in February, driven by the civil engineering sector, though a slowdown in new orders and soaring costs added to mixed signals for the economy, a survey showed.
The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged up to 52.5 from 52.2 in January, above forecasts in a Reuters poll that had pointed to an unchanged reading.
Growth in housebuilding cooled to a six-month low and commercial construction contracted for the first time in four months, but this was outweighed by an improvement for civil engineering firms. Adding to the uncertain outlook, Travis Perkins, Britain’s biggest supplier of building materials, reported a 67 per cent fall in pre-tax profit after a raft of exceptional charges — and flagged caution around the economy. — Reuters
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