In August, British construction sector activity suddenly went down, reaching a one-year minimum and also affecting optimism over the UK economy, as industry data revealed on Monday.
Market research firm IHS Markit along with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply reported that the previous month their British construction purchasing managers’ index went down to a seasonally adjusted 51.1 from July’s outcome of 51.9.
Financial experts had expected the index to soar to 52.0 in August.
By the way, on the index, a result above 50.0 traditionally stands for expansion, while an outcome below 50.0 suggests contraction.
IHS Markit stressed that a sturdy ascend in house building was compensated by a marked dip in commercial work and also added that new business edged down for the second month running.
Reacting to the report, the currency pair GBP/USD hit 1.2942 versus 1.2945 ahead of the publication.
