Activity in housebuilding sector sees growth

UK housebuilding activity returned to growth in June for the first time in nine months, as the downturn across the construction sector showed signs of easing, a new survey shows.

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But optimism among builders weakened as economic worries clouded the outlook for the future.

The latest S&P Global construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed a reading of 48.8 last month, improving from 47.9 in May.

Any reading below the 50 threshold indicates that activity in the industry is shrinking. The latest score indicates that construction activity contracted further in June, but the rate of decline was the slowest in six months.