The S&P Global Germany Construction PMI Total Activity Index climbed to 48.7 from 42.1 in July, reaching an eight-month high and recording the sector’s slowest contraction since the downturn began at the start of the year. Commercial construction drove the improvement, with activity expanding for the first time in more than a year, while the decline in residential construction eased markedly. Business confidence also edged higher. Civil engineering, however, slipped back into contraction after a modest increase in July. New orders continued to decline as elevated prices and borrowing costs weakened demand. Employment fell for a seventh consecutive month, and the pace of job losses accelerated to its fastest since April. Input cost inflation increased for the first time in four months, reversing July’s five-month low, while supplier delivery times lengthened. Constructors remained pessimistic about the outlook, citing weak new orders, high costs, squeezed incomes and risks related to the war in the Middle East.