ONS: UK construction output sees July dip as house building slows

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that output in the construction industry fell 1% in July, seeing a reversal of June’s figures which saw a 0.9% rise.

Analysts were expecting to see growth of around 0.5% for July after June’s unrevised figures. In comparison to last year, output fell by 0.7%, contradicting economists forecast of a 0.6 rise. This is the first year-on-year fall in construction output since May 2013, when it fell by 2.8%.

A key factor of the decline was a fall in the year-on-year numbers of new houses being built, dropping by 2.5%, the first decline since March 2013.

Public housing construction fell significantly to 15.6%, while the 0.8% growth in private construction was the slowest since March 2013 as well.

Construction fell dramatically after the economic crisis and was slow in recovery, but gained momentum last year before easing in early 2015.

Yesterday, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors predicted that house prices would finish 2015 6% higher, due to a lack of housing and competitive mortgage rates.

Construction contributes 6% to Britain’s economy but the data can be volatile, leading to revisions to the overall GDP. However, the ONS didn’t revise the 0.2 % growth rate it recorded for the sector in the second quarter and will instead delay until more comprehensive annual statistical revisions are made to Britain’s official data later this month.

 

The post ONS: UK construction output sees July dip as house building slows appeared first on UK Construction Online.