UK construction PMI eases in March, misses estimates

The construction sector activity in the UK economy stalled its pace of expansion and eased in the month of March, a fresh report from Markit Economics showed on Tuesday.

The final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in the UK slowed down to 52.2 points in March, after having booked 52.5 points in Feb. Markets had predicted a 52.4 reading.

Key Points:

Business activity growth eases in March

Housing slowdown offsets rebound in civil engineering and commercial work

Input price inflation slows further from January’s peak

Tim Moore, Senior Economist at IHS Markit and author of the Markit/CIPS Construction PMI®, noted, “UK construction firms experienced a growth slowdown in March, with the loss of momentum centered on housebuilding. A weaker trend for residential work has been reported throughout 2017 so far, which provides an indication that the cooling UK housing market has started to act as a drag on the construction sector.”