German construction sector pace of growth at March 2012 high
Germany's construction sector is now growing at the fastest pace seen since March 2012, according to new data from Markit.
The sector purchasing managers' index has risen to 55.1 in August, signalling higher growth from last month's figure of 51.5.
Phil Smith, economist at Markit said:
A solid and accelerated increase in construction activity was signalled by August PMI data, mirroring the trends recorded for both manufacturing and services.
Furthermore, rather than growth being confined to commercial activity, as was the case in two of the previous three months, the latest upturn was broad based by sector. Commercial activity continued to lead, but home building and civil engineering also posted robust increases on the month.
One negative highlighted by August’s survey was a faster rate of decline in intakes of new orders, which points to a slowdown later in the year unless this trend can be reversed.