UK construction companies reported a continued downturn in business activity in April, as highlighted by the seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index® (PMI®) posting 49.4, from 47.2 in March. The index, which measures overall output in the sector, signalled only a marginal decline in April, with the rate of contraction the slowest in the current six-month period of falling activity. Lower levels of construction output reflected declines in two of the three broad areas of activity monitored by the survey in April, with residential construction output the exception. Commercial activity ... (full story)