The overall rate of expansion improved slightly since September and was the second-strongest in 16 months. This mainly reflected a rebound in civil engineering activity, however, as both residential and commercial activity increased more slowly. Less positively, new projects rose only modestly and firms were the least optimistic regarding growth prospects in nearly six years.

At 53.2 in October, up from 52.1 in September, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index posted its second-highest level in 16 months.