(Bloomberg) -- IHS Markit's index of building activity rose to 48.4, from 44.4 in December, although it remained below the 50 threshold that indicates expansion for a ninth month.
Construction companies were the most optimistic about their growth prospects since April 2018 with a number of firms noting that clients' willingness to spend had picked up after Boris Johnson's decisive victory at the end of last year. House building was the best-performing type of work.
The “latest data revealed a strong rebound in business optimism across the construction sector,” said Tim Moore, economics associate director at Markit. “Commercial work dropped at the slowest pace since the start of 2019 and was the main beneficiary of receding political uncertainty.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Brian Swint
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