A robust rise in residential building contrasted with falling work on commercial projects and stagnating civil engineering output. There were positive signals for the near-term business outlook, with new order growth reaching a seven-month high and job creation the strongest since June. However, intense supply chain pressures continued across the construction sector, while input cost inflation picked up from November's 14-month low.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index posted 52.2 in December, down from 53.1 in November but above the 50.0 no-change threshold for the third month running. As a result, the latest reading signalled a moderate expansion of overall construction output at the end of 2017.