Eurozone construction sector contraction eases in February, PMI shows in World Economy News 06/03/2026 The eurozone construction sector saw activity decline at a slower pace in February compared to January, according to the HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI survey released Thursday. The Total Activity Index rose to 46.0 from 45.3 in January, indicating a solid drop in output that was less severe than the previous month. The decline in construction activity affected all three monitored segments, with the residential sector remaining the worst-performing area, followed by commercial activity. Both sectors saw their rates of reduction ease from January levels. Civil engineering returned to contraction after a slight uptick at the start of the year, posting its most pronounced decline since May 2025. At the country level, construction activity contracted at similar rates in Germany and France, with Germany seeing an accelerated decline. Italian companies registered growth for the first time in four months, though at a marginal rate. Demand conditions deteriorated further in February, though the pace of contraction eased to the softest in three months. Germany and France both saw steeper reductions in new orders on the month. Italy recorded a rise in new order intakes for the first time in four months at the fastest pace since June 2025. Cost pressures strengthened during February, with the rate of input price inflation reaching the highest since April 2023. Italy led the overall increase with the fastest rise in operating expenses since January 2023, while German input price inflation hit a five-month high. French firms saw their cost burdens ease slightly. Construction firms reduced staffing numbers in February, reversing the slight increase seen in January. The rate of reduction was modest overall but the sharpest since November 2025. Germany saw a renewed fall in employment, while French companies registered a further moderate decline in headcounts. Italy saw employment levels rise modestly. Input buying at eurozone construction firms declined again, extending the current contraction sequence to 45 months. France and Germany recorded sharp and accelerated decreases in purchasing activity, while Italy saw a fractional rise in input purchases for the first time in five months. Average lead times lengthened solidly during February to the most marked extent for two years. All three monitored countries saw deteriorating vendor performance, led by Germany. Italian companies saw the steepest deterioration since July 2025. Construction firms registered optimism about their activity outlook for the coming year for the first time in nine months. The degree of positive sentiment was moderate but the most pronounced since February 2022. Expectations among German firms were the most upbeat for six years and also strengthened in Italy. France saw sustained pessimism, though the degree of negative sentiment was only fractional and the least marked in the current 21-month sequence. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-06 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.