(Bloomberg) — The UK economy’s rebound from recession appeared to be gathering momentum in March, with a key industry survey showing growth across all three main sectors for the first time in almost two years.
S&P Global’s construction purchasing managers’ index edged up to 50.2 in March from 49.7 the previous month, ending a six-month period of falling output. Readings above 50 signals growth, and the score was slightly stronger than the 49.9 expected.
The report was the last of the major sectors covered by the PMI — services, manufacturing and construction — to show growth and marked the first time since June 2022 that they expanded together.
It supports the idea that the UK bounced back from last year’s recession and was picking up at the end of the first quarter. Even so, it will take time for official data to register a firm upswing — and even then the expectation is for only a marginal pace of expansion not far above the stagnation.
“Improving real wages and expected interest rate cuts are proving to be the right medicine to end the construction downturn, with all major sectors of the industry now showing flat or marginally rising output,” said Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “Renewed falls in mortgage rates in the coming months should keep builders upbeat.”
A rapid recovery would give a boost to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who put the economy at the heart of his agenda ahead of an election likely later this year.
“The near-term outlook for construction workloads appears increasingly favorable as order books improved again in March and to the greatest extent for just under one year,” Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a report Friday. He said firms reported being “helped by easing borrowing costs and signs that UK economic conditions have started to recover in the first quarter.”
It followed an upgrade to the manufacturing PMI which edged the sector into expansion territory earlier this week and confirmation of continued firm growth in services, the UK’s largest sector.
S&P said a stabilization in housebuilding helped the wider construction sector after it was hit hard by the property market’s woes. Housebuilders enjoyed their best performance in the survey since November 2022 with civil engineering the strongest part of the sector.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
