The UK construction industry saw orders grow at their fastest pace in almost a year during December, but firms are still grappling with "intense cost pressures" caused by the Brexit-hit pound.

The positive news from the Markit/CIPS survey, comes one day after manufacturers also signalled that activity was surging.

UK Construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 54.2 last month, up from 52.8 in November and well above economists' expectations of 52.6.

A reading above 50 indicates growth.

The better-than-expected performance was driven by improved order books and a rebound in business conditions, with new order growth hitting an 11-month high.

However, input costs rose at their fastest since April 2011, as rising imported raw material prices - driven by sterling's slump since the Brexit vote - were passed down from suppliers.

It comes after separate PMI figures on Tuesday showed manufacturing output unexpectedly leap to a two-and-a-half-year high in December thanks to an exports boost from the plunging pound.

Tim Moore, senior economist at IHS Markit, said the PMI data showed the construction industry delivered a "solid rebound" in the final quarter of last year.

"All three main areas of construction activity have started to recover from last summer's soft patch, but in each case growth remains much weaker than the cyclical peaks seen in 2014.

"Housebuilding remains a key engine of growth for the construction sector, with the latest upturn the fastest for almost one year.

"Meanwhile, commercial activity was the weakest performing category in December, reflecting an ongoing drag from subdued investment spending and heightened economic uncertainty."

The PMI report said housebuilding was the best performing area of the industry, with housing activity delivering its fastest expansion since January.

Rising workloads also bumped up employment levels, as recruitment grew at its quickest rate since May but remained "much weaker" than the average.

Nearly half - 48 per cent - of the firms surveyed for the report expect business activity to step up over the next year, with business confidence hitting a three-month high.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the PMI report boosted hopes for a robust performance from the UK economy in the fourth quarter.

"The improved December construction purchasing managers' survey follows on from the manufacturing survey showing activity picking up to a 30-month high in December.

"This buoys hopes that the UK economy continued to hold up pretty well in the fourth quarter of 2016 after resilient expansion of 0.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter following June's Brexit vote.

"A healthy December purchasing managers' survey for the dominant services sector would be particularly reassuring."