Investing.com - U.K. construction sector activity expanded at the slowest rate in five months in October, dampening optimism over the country’s economic outlook, industry data showed on Tuesday.
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 61.4 last month from a reading of 64.2 in September. Economists had expected the index to fall to 63.5 in October.
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, “October’s survey provides the first indication that the chill winds blowing across the UK housing market have started to weigh on the booming residential building sector."
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5993 from around 1.6003 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7821 from 0.7815 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.2%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 inched up 0.4%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.25%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.55%.