The UK’s construction sector has grown at its fastest pace in more than a year, despite the rising cost of steel as prices have been pushed up by President Trump’s tariffs.
The purchasing managers’ index for construction in July unexpectedly recorded the biggest rise in output since last May as housebuilding increased at its fastest rate since 2015, driven by residential construction.
The IHS Markit/CIPS survey rose from 53.1 in June to 55.8 last month, ahead of the forecasts of a poll of economists taken by Reuters that had expected output to slow in July. A figure above 50 indicates expansion.
