British construction maintains rebound

Home building in Britain in November grew at its fastest pace in 10 years, research firm Markit Economics said Tuesday. The purchasing managers index for the month showed growth for the seventh consecutive month with sharp gains in new construction orders and employment for the industry, Markit said. "November data pointed to another strong upturn in the UK construction sector with output and employment both rising at the sharpest rate since August 2007," the monthly report said. The headline PMI for the construction sector rose from 59.4 in October to 62.2 in November. The index uses 50 as a break-even point. Numbers higher than 50 indicate growth. All three sub-sectors for the index, residential housing construction, commercial construction and civil engineering showed growth in November with anecdotal evidence pointing to "more favorable business conditions in November ... and improving credit conditions." Markit economist Tim Moore noted that the gains represented a rebound "from a deep and protracted double-dip recession that only really ended this summer." Some of the gains may be due pent up demand that built up during the prolonged economic downturn, Moore said. "While construction's current growth trajectory may be the steepest for over six years, there is still a huge loss of output to recoup before the sector reaches its pre-recession peak," he said.