The eurozone construction industry fell for the seventeenth month in a row in September, according to survey results released Thursday by the Economic Research Institute of S&P Global Market Intelligence. In September, the eurozone construction purchasing managers’ index (BMI) rose to 43.6 points from a nine-month low in August.
An index above 50 points indicates an increase in the indicators of the economic activity under study, and a value below 50 points indicates a decrease.
Index data from the latest survey by the Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) points to a further significant deterioration in the eurozone construction industry at the end of the third quarter.
Construction jobs fell for the seventh month in a row in September, while purchasing activity among eurozone construction companies fell the most in 40 months. Demand conditions remained weak. Meanwhile, business confidence fell to its lowest level this year in September, while new orders have fallen for 18 months and the pace of contraction accelerated to its sharpest level since May 2020. However, price pressure remained subdued.
The eurozone’s decline in September was also driven by the largest weakening in German construction activity since April 2020. Meanwhile, a more moderate but still significant decline was recorded in France, while construction activity in Italy fell slightly again for the tenth month of contraction in a row.
Construction activity, which is most sensitive to high interest rates, continues to show a downward trend that began last spring, according to the latest BMI data. Despite signals from the European Central Bank that the cycle of interest rate hikes is coming to an end, business expectations are still falling, said Cyrus de la RubiaChief Economist of the Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB).
2023-10-05 17:04:00
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