"Homes are the beating heart of this rapid recovery in the construction sector, backed by a solid expansion in civil engineering and commercial activity"
- David Noble, CIPS chief executive officer
A wave of optimism is sweeping Britain's construction sector, which expanded at the fastest rate in more than three years in July, as government measures boosted property demand. According to the figures from Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, a gauge of activity in construction sector rocketed to 57 last month, compared with 51 a month earlier, getting a foothold above the 50 threshold for the third month in a row. Moreover, the performance of construction industry surprised on the upside during the whole second quarter, as output was forecasted to have risen 0.9% from the first quarter, when the output was the lowest since first quarter of 2011.
In a separate report the Nationwide Building Society said that domestic home values jumped 0.8% in July, reaching an average of 170,825 pounds ($259,000), the most since June 2008. The U.K. economy is showing signs of stable improvement after gross domestic product expanded 0.6% in the second quarter, while the National Institute of Economic and Social Research upgraded its growth forecasts on Friday, citing a pickup in consumer spending. Nonetheless, some economists are warning that the government and the newly-appointed BoE Governor Mark Carney in particular, is not doing enough to support a sustained growth outside the housebuilding sector.
© Dukascopy Bank SA