Euro area construction output falls in November, to have remained sluggish in Q4

Euro area construction output came in sluggish in the fourth quarter. Following a subdued beginning to the fourth quarter, construction output in the currency bloc dropped a bit in November, falling 0.1 percent sequentially, with building work rising 0.1 percent but civil engineering falling 0.2 percent on a month-on-month basis. Among the member states, softness was mainly seen in Germany, while output in France recorded a modest recovery from a steep fall in October.

With construction output in the euro area having fallen 1.6 percent sequentially in October, the average level for the first two months of fourth quarter was 0.1 percent below that of the third quarter.

“But we expect to see a rebound in output in December, led by Germany, where construction orders continue to trend higher, sentiment in the sector remains elevated and fundamentals - including historically low interest rates, easy lending standards and rising prices - remain supportive. So, construction seems likely to have grown, albeit minimally, over the fourth quarter as a whole”, added Daiwa Capital Market Research in a report.

At 19:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Euro was bearish at -99.0287, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bullish at 60.9311more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex