Britain's builders have enjoyed a post-election bounce back as the construction sector grew at its fastest pace since February, according to new figures.
The closely-watched Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey showed a far better-than-expected reading of 58.1 for the sector in June, up from 55.9 in May.
Housebuilding remained the fastest growing area in the sector, which saw a surge in work following the decisive Conservative majority win in May's general election.
Growth had been hampered before the election amid uncertainty over the outcome.
The survey also showed that confidence in the sector over the outlook for the following 12 months was at its highest for 11 years.
David Noble, group chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), said: "Construction was on a real high this month with the sharpest rise in overall activity since February as the sector made up for lost ground since the general election."
Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit and author of PMI report, added: "The extent of the recent rise in construction optimism is partly down to relief that pre-election uncertainty has now passed, but it also suggests that firms are infused with confidence that underlying demand will continue to recover."
He said "scorching hot demand" for some construction products placed extra pressure on supply chains in June, with delivery times lengthening again for a wide range of materials.
A surge in construction work also saw jobs being created at the fastest clip so far this year, according to the survey.
The survey provides some welcome good news on the UK's second quarter growth, helping offset disappointing results from the manufacturing PMI survey yesterday.
Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "This is a really encouraging survey, although it needs to be borne in mind that the construction sector only accounts for 6.4 per cent of gross domestic product.
"Nevertheless, this is an antidote to the disappointing manufacturing purchasing survey for June."
Survey figures for the powerhouse services sector will be released tomorrow and will give further clues on the UK's economic performance in the second quarter.
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