A slower decrease was seen in German construction activity in April this year. Markit's Germany Construction Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) climbed to 48.8 points in April, up from a 13-month low of 41.9 in March. Germany's construction industry activity saw only a marginal drop in April, marking the slowest fall for 12 months.
Despite the further downturn in new business at the start of the second quarter, German constructors were generally confident of output growth in the coming 12 months. Moreover, optimism was the highest in more than a year, having improved for the sixth straight month.