- EUR/GBP gains ground after the Eurozone manufacturing PMI improves to 47.4 in May, reaching a 15-month high.
- Sterling holds its ground after mixed UK PMIs.
- The BoE could delay rate cuts as the UK CPI eased at a slower pace than expected in April.
EUR/GBP advances to near 0.8520 during the European session on Thursday, as the Euro appreciates following the improvement of the preliminary Eurozone manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). The decline in the Eurozone manufacturing sector improved to 47.4 in May from 45.7 in April, surpassing the expected reading of 46.2 and reaching a 15-month high.
Additionally, the bloc's services PMI held steady at 53.3 in May, just below the estimate of 53.5. Meanwhile, the composite PMI rose to 52.3 from 51.7, marking a 12-month high.
In Germany, the contraction of the manufacturing sector slowed in May, while the services sector performed better. The manufacturing PMI rose to 45.4, its highest level in four months. At the same time, the services PMI rose to 53.9, hitting its highest level in 11 months.
In the United Kingdom (UK), mixed PMI data helped the British Pound (GBP) hold. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) improved to 51.3 in May, from 49.1 in April, beating expectations of 49.5 points. However, the preliminary UK services PMI fell to 52.9 in May, below the market consensus of 54.7 and below the previous figure of 55.0.
S&P Global Market Intelligence chief economist Chris Williamson said: “Preliminary PMI data for May signaled a further expansion in business activity in the UK, suggesting the economy is continuing to recover from the mild recession seen in late from last year”.
Additionally, the British Pound received support as the Bank of England (BoE) could delay its shift towards policy normalization as the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for April showed inflation it smoothed out at a slower pace than expected.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
