2019.12.0905:12:00UTC+00Ireland's Construction Sector Conditions Deteriorate In November

The Ireland construction sector shrank for the third straight month in November, although the pace of contraction slowed from October, data from the IHS Markit showed on Monday.

The Ulster Bank construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 48.2 in November from 46.2 in October. However, any score below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

"So, as with some other areas of the economy, we think that recent weakness in the Housing PMI is perhaps more reflective of large, adverse moves in business sentiment generally likely related to acute Brexit uncertainty than of marked weakness in actual underlying housing activity," Simon Barry, chief economist, Republic of Ireland at Ulster Bank, said.

Housing activity contracted in November, while commercial activity expanded for the first time in three months in November. At the same time, civil engineering activity decreased for the fifteenth month in a row and was at the fastest pace in nearly six-and-a-half years.

New orders declined for the second straight month in November, while employment growth increased to the highest level in four months.

Input costs increased sharply to a seven-month high in November. Looking ahead, business confidence was little changed from October's three-month high, survey showed.