At the end of the second quarter this year, Germany's construction sector continued to rebound from its recent downturn. Markit's Germany Construction Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) climbed to a 15-month high of 54.5 in June, up from 50.6 in May, signalling solid and accelerated growth of overall German construction activity.
June's expansion in output was broad-based, with constructors noting increased housing, commercial and civil engineering activity. Work on commercial projects rose by the greatest extent, with growth in this area of the industry the fastest since March 2012. Increases in residential building work and civil engineering activity were the sharpest for nine and 27 months respectively.
Commenting on the Markit Germany Construction survey data, Phil Smith, economist at Markit, said, "The construction sector posted its strongest quarterly performance in two years on the back of June's solid increase in activity, and looks to have a made a positive contribution to second quarter GDP as a result."