Simon Barry, chief economist Republic of Ireland at Ulster Bank, said: “The latest results of the Ulster Bank Construction PMI survey signalled a welcome return to expansion in Irish construction activity in June. Notably, the headline PMI index rose sharply last month to get back to above the 50 breakeven level for the first time since the coronavirus hit the Irish economy.
“Mirroring the pattern of the headline PMI, all three sectoral sub-indices recorded sharp gains last month. This was particularly so in the case of housing as its PMI rose from 21.4 in May to a ten-month high of 55.8 in June, signalling a fast expansion in activity following the extreme weakness reported in recent months.”
“Overall, the June PMI is an encouraging sign that the construction sector is now more clearly in recovery mode following the easing of restrictions which took hold during May. Furthermore, a headline reading of 51.9 also signals construction outperformance relative to both the services and manufacturing equivalents (which stand at 39.7 and 51 respectively). And other details within the survey also offered some encouragement, with the New Orders and Employment indices both recording sharp trajectory improvement last month to stand at 46 and 43.3 in June, respectively.”
