Eurozone construction output growth hits 17-month high

Construction output in the eurozone bounced back strongly in June after contracting the previous three months, according to figures released on Tuesday by Eurostat.

Output increased by 1.7% over the month of June, following a 0.9% drop in May and 0.3% monthly declines in both April and March.

This was the highest rate of growth since January 2023, helped by a big increase in building construction (+1.8%), civil engineering output (+1.1%) and growth in specialised construction activities (+0.5%).

Compared with June 2023, output was 1.0% higher, following a downwardly revised 2.1% annual drop in May.

Among eurozone member states for which data was available, the highest monthly growth in construction output was seen in Portugal (+3.2%) and France (+1.7%), while the biggest declines were registered in Slovenia (-9.1%) and Poland (-2.1%).