Details of the January 2016 UK Markit CIPS construction PMI data report 2 February 2016

  • Prior 57.8
  • Housing activity 55.9 vs 58.3 prior

The uplift in December has been washed out and Q1 hasn't started well, although we're still very much in expansion. New orders grew but at a slower pace. Employment grew at the slowest pace for over 2 years, Markit's Tim Moore says that economic uncertainty may be behind the slowdown.

"UK construction firms struggled for momentum at the start of this year, with heightened economic uncertainty acting as a brake on new orders and contributing to one of the weakest rises in output levels since the summer of 2013. Softer growth of house building activity and a more subdued increase in commercial construction were the main factors behind the slowdown."

The quid has been given an extra shove lower down to 1.4327