UK construction growth rebounds unexpectedly in January
The UK's construction sector rebounded in January, pulling away from December's 17-month low.
The Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 59.1 from December's 17-month low of 57.6, buoyed by residential home-building. Any reading above 50 indicates growth.
"UK construction companies have found their feet again after a protracted slowdown in output growth at the end of 2014," said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit.
"Stronger trends were recorded across housing, commercial and civil engineering, although each category of activity still experienced much slower growth than the high-water marks achieved last year."
"In short, the peak speed of the construction recovery seems to be over, but reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated."
Nonetheless, the uptick didn't help job creation, which slipped to a 13-month low in January. This was its second consecutive contraction and the weakest reading since December 2013.