Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. construction, which accounts for 6 percent of the economy, contracted at the fastest pace in more than a decade in November.
An index based on a survey of purchasing managers at building companies was at 31.8, the lowest since the survey began in April 1997, the London-based Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and Markit said today. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
Homebuilders Taylor Wimpey Plc, Barratt Developments Plc and Persimmon Plc are battling the biggest slump in their industry for 25 years after the seizure in credit markets choked off finance for people wanting property. U.K. house prices dropped to the lowest level in almost three years, Hometrack Ltd. said yesterday.
“The unyielding global economic challenges continued to depress the U.K. construction sector in November,” Roy Ayliffe, director of professional practice at CIPS, said in a statement. “Purchasing managers reported significant falls in new orders, industry output and employment, providing yet further evidence of the deterioration in the sector.”
Construction fell into a recession in the third quarter, declining 0.7 percent, data showed on Nov. 26.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown still said on Nov. 27 that the British homebuilding industry may recover faster than that of other countries because there is pent-up demand for homes and supply is scarce.
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