UK construction activity falls at slowest pace since January

By David Milliken

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - British construction activity fell further in September, but the decline was the smallest since January as a sharp downturn in housebuilding eased slightly, an industry survey showed on Tuesday.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index for Britain's construction sector rose to an eight-month high of 46.1 in September from 44.3 in August but remained well below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction, as it has been since January 2025.

"Total new orders were relatively subdued in September as construction firms reported longer sales conversion cycles and clients deferred decision-making on major projects," Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.

• The new orders balance fell to a three-month low of 45.9 from 47.7, due to a mix of subdued demand, geopolitical tensions and rising input costs

• Input prices rose at their slowest rate since the outbreak of the Iran war in February, but Moore said this appeared unlikely to last due to higher energy costs

• Firms' expectations for future activity were the weakest since May

• The most recent official data showed British construction output was 1.0% lower than a year earlier in Q2 2026

• Housebuilding remained the weakest sector in the PMI, followed by civil engineering, while commercial work showed only a small decline

• S&P Global said their all-sector PMI, which includes PMI data for services, manufacturing and construction, slipped to a three-month low of 51.5 in September from 51.8

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Toby Chopra)