UK's construction output decreased in the first quarter to the lowest level in around fourteen years, preliminary data released by the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.
Construction output declined a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent quarter-on-quarter during the three moths ended March, taking the overall volume to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1998. The latest slump followed a 0.6 percent rise in the fourth quarter.
Driving the overall contraction, all new work fell 3.2 percent sequentially during the three-month period. Repair and maintenance activity was lower by 0.9 percent than in the previous quarter.
Compared to the fist quarter of 2012, construction output dropped at a slower pace of 6.5 percent in the first quarter than 9 percent in the preceding quarter. New work was lower by 7.8 percent than in the first quarter of 2012.
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