UK construction companies recorded a sustained expansion of overall business activity in February, with civil engineering replacing house building as the main growth driver. Residential activity increased at the slowest pace for six months, while commercial building declined for the first time since October 2016. The latest survey revealed a further solid expansion of employment numbers, despite a slowdown in new business growth to its weakest for four months. Meanwhile, intense cost inflation persisted in February, which was overwhelmingly linked to higher prices for imported materials.

At 52.5 in February, up slightly from 52.2 in January, the seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) registered above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the sixth consecutive month. However, the rate of output growth remained weaker than its postreferendum peak (54.2 in December 2016) and subdued in comparison to the trends seen over the past three-and-a-half years.