THE amount of new housing built in Britain fell for the first time in more than two years in July, despite rising house prices, driving a broader decline in construction that adds to signs that the country’s economy is slowing.

    The official figures Friday contrast with bumper profits reported by house-builders and follow weak manufacturing figures which have raised questions about whether growth is cooling as the Bank of England (BoE) comes nearer to raising interest rates.

    House-building in July was 2.5 percent lower than a year earlier, the first fall since March 2013, and the slowdown looks set to continue with the volume of orders for new housing at its lowest since early 2013.

    Private commercial work, such as building shops and offices, also fell, and overall construction output in July was down by 0.7 percent on the year, the first fall since May 2013 and bucking economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent rise.

    “This indicator continues the theme of disappointing data for Q3, which include weaker (purchasing managers’) surveys, disappointing industrial production and tentative evidence that retail sales were soggy,” said Alan Clarke, head of European fixed income strategy at Scotiabank.

    Britain’s economy has been growing rapidly over the past couple of years, chalking up an above-average 0.7 percent expansion in the three months to June, but most economists expect a modest slowdown in the third quarter of 2015.

    At the same time, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said that the decision over when to raise interest rates for the first time since 2007 is likely to come into sharper focus around the turn of the year.

    A survey published by the BoE on Friday showed that nearly half of Britons expect interest rates to rise in the next 12 months, the highest proportion since May 2011.(SD-Agencies)