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Builders enjoy small fillip but still depressed
05.05.09
Beleaguered builders enjoyed their best period for seven months in April - but remained deep in recession.
The index used by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply to measure activity in the construction sector jumped from 30.9 in March to 38.1 in April.
However, a reading of 50 marks the difference between growth and contraction.
Institute director Roy Ayliffe said: "The darkness that has been gathering across the UK construction economy over the past 13 months lifted slightly in April but, against a backdrop of ongoing market uncertainty, fewer new orders and fierce competition, blue skies are still a fair way off."
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, said the survey showed "tentative signs of improvement".
He said: "This is consistent with anecdotal evidence regarding both the construction industry and the wider economy."
