British construction output fell 11.6 percent on the year in August,non-seasonably adjusted data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday. Compared to July,construction dipped 0.9 percent after a 2.1 per cent month-on-month rise in July. Between June and August construction output dropped 11.9 percent compared to the same three months in 2011,with the main drag coming from a 15.6 percent slide in new work. The ONS warned that caution should be taken when interpreting movements in output involving June 2012 because a May public holiday was postponed until June,when another day was added to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. A steep slump in construction output was the main drag on Britain's economy in the first half of 2012,pushing the country back into recession.
