- Prior 43.7
German construction activity continues to slump further, with the contraction at its quickest pace in a year-and-a-half. A sustained drop in new orders was observed as high prices, increased interest rates and economic uncertainty all weighed on demand for construction work. S&P Global notes that:
“Latest PMI data showed output levels across Germany’s construction sector falling for a fifth straight month in August, with the headline total activity index dropping even further into sub-50 contraction territory to show the sector’s worst performance for a year-and-a-half.
“Commercial activity continued to lead the decline, but the trends in both housing and civil engineering were not much better, with each category seeing a notable downturn.
“Construction activity has fallen on the back of a sustained reduction in demand, with firms reporting that high prices, increased borrowing costs and uncertainty among clients has made it more difficult to secure new work.
“The decline in new orders did ease somewhat, whilst there were further moderations in both cost and supplychain pressures, all of which perhaps helps explain the less slightly pessimistic outlook among constructors. Nevertheless, constructors are expecting conditions to remain extremely challenging over the coming year and have continued to scale down both workforce numbers and purchasing activity accordingly.”
/EUR