"The latest figures complete the picture of a fairly dismal first quarter"
- David Noble, chief executive officer of CIPS
Britain's construction output shrank for the fifth consecutive month in March, as the industry suffered from bad weather and poor demand, Markit Economics said Wednesday. A gauge of construction activity was at 47.2 in March compared with 46.8 in February, when it reached the lowest in more than three years, however, still remained below the 50 threshold, which indicates expansion. The fact that both manufacturing and constructions sectors contracted further, suggesting they will not shield the struggling economy from a triple- dip recession. Official GDP data will be published on April 25th, however, the evidence so far suggests a strong risk that the U.K. will record a second consecutive quarter of contraction, falling into the technical recession.
"The latest figures complete the picture of a fairly dismal first quarter, which has admittedly been affected by unusually bad weather, with output and employment down on the last quarter of 2012," said David Noble, chief executive officer of CIPS.
"The negative print for construction output mirrors that seen for manufacturing, and now leaves the service sector as the last great hope for avoiding another slide in UK GDP," said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit.
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