Investing.com - U.K. construction sector activity expanded at the fastest rate in eight months in September, fuelling optimism over the country’s economic outlook, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, market research firm Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply said that their U.K. construction purchasing managers' index increased to a seasonally adjusted 64.2 last month from a reading of 64.0 in August. Economists had expected the index to fall to 63.5 in September.
Strong output growth was maintained across the U.K. construction sector in September, supported by sharp rises in housing, commercial and civil engineering activity.
Commenting on the report, Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit and author the report, said, “U.K. construction firms experienced a sustained and strong output recovery during September, in contrast to the weakening picture seen across the manufacturing sector at the end of this summer."
GBP/USD was trading at 1.6184 from around 1.6188 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7806 from 0.7804 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained broadly lower. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.4%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.7%, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.5%, while Germany's DAX retreated 0.5%.