- UK services PMI falls further to 51.8 in October, misses estimates.
- The UK manufacturing PMI fell to 50.3 in October.
- GBP/USD trims gains to near 1.2960 after UK business PMIs.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.3 in October from 51.5 in September. The data missed the market forecast of 51.4.
Meanwhile, the UK Services Preliminary Business Activity Index declined to 51.8 in October after recording 52.4 in September, falling short of expectations of 52.2.
Commenting on the preliminary PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “Business activity growth has fallen to its lowest level in almost a year in October, as bearish rhetoric from the government and uncertainty ahead of the Budget have undermined confidence and business spending.”
Implications for the foreign exchange market
GBP/USD trims gains to return to 1.2950 after disappointing UK PMI data. The pair is adding 0.24% on the day, at the time of writing.
Pound Sterling PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of the British Pound (GBP) against major currencies today. Pound sterling was the weakest currency against the Japanese yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.15% | -0.22% | -0.52% | -0.15% | -0.33% | -0.38% | -0.06% | |
| EUR | 0.15% | -0.09% | -0.36% | -0.01% | -0.19% | -0.24% | 0.06% | |
| GBP | 0.22% | 0.09% | -0.30% | 0.08% | -0.11% | -0.15% | 0.16% | |
| JPY | 0.52% | 0.36% | 0.30% | 0.36% | 0.18% | 0.10% | 0.46% | |
| CAD | 0.15% | 0.00% | -0.08% | -0.36% | -0.17% | -0.23% | 0.09% | |
| AUD | 0.33% | 0.19% | 0.11% | -0.18% | 0.17% | -0.03% | 0.26% | |
| NZD | 0.38% | 0.24% | 0.15% | -0.10% | 0.23% | 0.03% | 0.31% | |
| CHF | 0.06% | -0.06% | -0.16% | -0.46% | -0.09% | -0.26% | -0.31% |
The heat map shows percentage changes for major currencies. The base currency is selected from the left column, while the quote currency is selected from the top row. For example, if you choose the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change shown in the box will represent the GBP (base)/USD (quote).
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.
