The output of the construction sector in Europe in January fell by -1.5% year-on-year while the fall across the Euro Area reached -6.2% y-o-y, according to the latest figures from Eurostat seen by Kallanish.

Most major European countries saw construction output decline in January, with the exception of the UK and the Netherlands where output grew 3.9% and 2.9% y-o-y respectively, continuing the positive trend seen during 2016.

Germany’s construction output was down -5.7% y-o-y, in line with the fall registered in France (-5.4% y-o-y). Spain and Belgium were among the worst performers with corrections of -13.1% and -18% on-year respectively.

With the latest fall in January, the Eurostat index for the construction sector reached for the Euro Area its lowest level since Q3 2015. For the whole of the EU28 area the index remained above the lows of Q1 2016.