Fall in eurozone construction activity renewed in July

According to the report from IHS Markit, at 49.8 in July, the Eurozone Construction Total Activity Index fell from 50.3 in June and pointed to a marginal reduction in overall construction activity. This marked the first fall in activity since February, with companies often linking the decline to rising costs and raw material shortages. Sub-sector data showed slightly quicker falls in both commercial and civil engineering activity in July, while home building activity expanded at the softest rate for three months.

Home building in the eurozone increased for the fifth successive month in July. That said, the rate of expansion eased to a modest pace that was the softest recorded since April. Work undertaken on commercial construction projects in the eurozone fell again in July, thereby stretching the current sequence of decline to 17 months. Though modest, the rate of reduction was the quickest seen since April. As has been the case since August 2019, civil engineering activity fell across the eurozone at the start of the third quarter. The pace of reduction quickened slightly since June, and was solid overall.

Eurozone construction firms were confident in July that activity will increase over the next year. Notably, the degree of positive sentiment was little-changed from June's two-year peak.