Construction sector growing

THE UK’s construction sector continued to grow last month, hitting highs not seen for five months, according to an influential monthly survey.

The Purchasing Managers Index survey of construction companies gave them a score of 53.2 in October, up from 52.3 in September. It is the highest reading since May and the second month of growth - any score above 50 is considered to show the sector is expanding.

It comes after the survey, run by S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, scored 48.9 as recently as July - the lowest level for 26 months.

Commercial building companies performed the best, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, residential builders managed to grow but the civil engineering sector shrunk for the fourth month in a row.