Manufacturing data is providing a boost for the UK pound today. After seeing days of poor performance, the sterling is getting a little help from economic data.
According to Markit, the UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index moved higher for November. The index moved to 53.5 in November, gaining from 53.2 in October. It might seem like a small gain, but many analysts had expected a loss in the index, so any gain was considered good news.
All of that good economic data is leading to gains by the UK pound against its major counterparts. The news isn’t nearly as good coming out of Germany, so the euro is struggling today. And, even though the US dollar retains a lot of its underlying strength, the pound is still gaining against the greenback. Lower oil prices are likely to provide more support fort he dollar, so those gains may be short lived.
Now, Forex traders are looking forward to the Bank of England announcement slated for Thursday. It will be interesting to see what policymakers do next in terms of easing.
At 11:34 GMT GBP/USD is higher, moving up to 1.5717 from the open at 1.5654. EUR/GBP is lower, dropping to 0.7929 from the open at 0.7967. GBP/JPY is higher, gaining to 186.1660 from the open at 185.7250.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Great Britain Pound,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.