Investing.com - U.K. construction sector activity expanded at a slower rate than expected in August, dampening optimism over the health of the economy, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, market research firm Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply said that their U.K. construction purchasing managers' index inched up to a seasonally adjusted 57.3 last month from a reading of 57.1 in July. Economists had expected the index to improve to 57.5 in August.
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, “U.K. construction companies remained on a reasonably strong growth footing in August, helped by a sustained recovery in both residential and commercial building activity."
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5295 from around 1.5298 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7376 from 0.7374 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were lower. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.4%, the EURO STOXX 50 lost 0.35%, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.35%, while Germany's DAX inched down 0.3%.