Housebuilding slows for 12th consecutive month

Housebuilding has slowed for the 12th month in a row. Residential construction remained the weakest performing segment in the S&P Global/CIPS UK purchasing managers’ index for the construction sector. Housebuilding activity in November registered at 39.2, a slight uptick from 38.5 in October, but still among one of the fastest reduction rates since the global financial crisis in 2009. The overall headline figure for the construction sector fell to 45.5 in November, fractionally below 45.6 in October but ahead of the Factset consensus of 45. It is the third month of contraction in a row. Commercial activity fell to 48.1 from 49.5 in October, while civil engineering dropped to a 16-month low of 43.5 from 43.7. However, input costs across the construction sector saw the steepest decline since July 2009. The Times (£)The FT (£)