German Construction Activity Contracts At Slower Pace

German Construction Activity Contracts At Slower Pace

The downturn in Germany's construction activity eased in September, helped by an upturn in home-building, survey data from Markit Economics showed Thursday.

The Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to a five-month high of 48.6 in September from 47.8 last month. The headline index has posted below 50.0 in each of the past six months, indicating contraction.

The overall decline reflected further reductions in commercial and civil engineering projects in September. In contrast, home-building grew for the first time in six months.

Intakes of new orders fell sharply in September. In spite of the trends in output, German constructors added to their workforces in September. Further, data pointed to an increase in average purchases prices facing German construction firms.