Construction buyers report first drop in output for 18 months

Industry buyers reported the first drop in construction output for one-and-a-half years in July.
Commercial work saw the only increases as civils and housing falls dragged down the bellwether S&P Global/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index to 48.9 in July from 52.6 in June.
The index was below the crucial 50 no-change threshold for the first time since January 2021 and the rate of decline was the fastest since May 2020.Civil engineering was the worst-performing segment in Ju