WHILST December data pointed to another sharp reduction in construction output, with the downturn persisting across all three broad categories of activity, construction companies signalled that business optimism has recovered to its strongest for nine months, according to the latest seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index. Survey respondents attributed the latest drop in workloads to political uncertainty and subdued client demand ahead of the general election. At 44.4 in December, down from 45.3 in November, the headline Activity Index registered below the crucial 50.0 no-change value for the eighth consecutive month, making the current period of falling business activity across the construction sector the longest recorded by the survey for almost a decade.
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