Investing.com - U.K. construction sector activity in April showed its weakest growth in almost three years amid stalling new business volumes, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, market research firm Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply said that their U.K. construction purchasing managers' index fell to a seasonally adjusted 52.0 last month from March’s reading of 54.2. That was its slowest pace since June 2013.
Economists had expected the index to inch down to 54.0 in March.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, below indicates contraction.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.4502 from around 1.4491 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7916 from 0.7918 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were trading broadly lower. London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.55%, the EURO STOXX 50 lost 0.51%, France's CAC 40 slipped 0.14%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.32%.