Nov 5 (Reuters) – Britain’s construction sector shrank last month at its fastest pace since June as housebuilding suffered its worst month of the year, a survey showed on Thursday.
The S&P Global UK Construction PMI fell to 43.6 from 46.1 in September, below every forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, whose median estimate had pointed to no change.
Readings below 50 denote contraction, which has been the case for the construction PMI for nearly two years.
• Civil engineering and commercial activity contracted, but the downturn was especially severe for the housing sector, which saw the biggest drop in activity since December 2025
• Only the COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis saw greater drops in housebuilding activity than last month and December 2025
• “Construction companies commented on severe headwinds in the housebuilding sector from rising borrowing costs, weak consumer confidence and elevated economic uncertainty,” said Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence
• “However, there were reports of strong demand for data centre projects, alongside rising workloads in the energy and utilities sectors,” he added
• The survey’s index of input costs rose to its highest level since June after jumping more than 10 points on the month, with respondents citing fuel surcharges and energy costs
• Business optimism waned to its lowest level since May
• The all-sector PMI — a combination of the construction, manufacturing and services surveys — rose to 52.1 in October from 51.5, the strongest reading since February
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Joe Bavier)
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