The construction industry continued to expand last month, according to a key industry survey.
The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index for April came in 55.8, down on the 56.7 of the previous month, but still well above the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion.
The figures sharpened the raging debate among analysts over whether the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics present an accurate picture of the sector’s health.
ONS figures last week showed the building sector contracted by 3% over the first three months of 2012, a decline that helped to push the UK into a double-dip recession. But the construction PMIs have been positive since the turn of the year, causing confusion among economists.
“Either the ONS or Markit has got this number wrong” said Peter Dixon of Commerzbank.
“I’m inclined to believe the construction sector was stronger than the ONS estimated it to be. I think we’ve got to look at these numbers and say the sector is holding up. It’s not stellar, but it’s OK.”
The latest robust PMI figures are also likely to bolster the confidence of the Bank of England’s interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee in its view that construction sector is doing better than the “puzzling” official data suggests.
