Investing.com - U.K. construction sector activity expanded at the slowest rate in 17 months in December, fuelling concerns over the country’s economic outlook, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, market research firm Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply said that their U.K. construction purchasing managers' index declined to a seasonally adjusted 57.6 last month from a reading of 59.4 in November. Economists had expected the index to fall to 59.0 in December.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, below indicates contraction.
Commenting on the report, Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit and author the report, said, “UK construction output growth retreated further in December, but another strong expansion of house building activity ensured that the sector continued to perform impressively overall."
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5297 from around 1.5310 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7815 from 0.7804 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained lower. London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.55%, the EURO STOXX 50 inched down 0.35%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.1%, while Germany's DAX lost 0.1%.