Wednesday's session brought UK Construction PMI data. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI®) posted 52.2 in December, down from 53.1 in November but above the 50.0 no-change threshold for the third month running. As a result, the latest reading signalled a moderate expansion of overall construction output at the end of 2017. Survey respondents indicated that house building remained a key engine of growth, with residential work expanding for the sixteenth consecutive month in December.
From the UK, on Thursday, Services PMI data was released. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI Business Activity Index registered 54.2 in December, up from 53.8 in the previous month, to signal the second-fastest upturn in service sector output since April 2017. Higher levels of business activity have now been recorded for seventeen months running, supported by the resilient economic backdrop and rising consumer spending. However, service providers noted that Brexit-related uncertainty continued to hold back clients’ willingness to spend at the end of 2017.
This week markets will be looking at:
Industrial Production (Wednesday 10:30)
