The purchasing managers’ index for the construction sector in December dropped to 62.1 points. It was expected to remain at sky high levels, around 62.6 reported for November.
GBP/USD traded at around 1.6440 before the release, stabilizing after the big downfall yesterday. The bulk release of data doesn’t seem to affect the pound too much.
The UK’s manufacturing PMI came out slightly below expectations, but the reason for cable’s weakness is mostly due to the strength of the US dollar at the wake of 2014. The services sector is the biggest, and its PMI is scheduled for Monday.
In addition, the UK released the Net Lending to Individuals number, which was expected to rise from 1.7 to 2 billion, but it disappointed with a smaller rise of 1.5%. Mortgage approvals carried expectations of a rise from 68K to 70K. The actual figure is 71K. M4 Money Supply was flat, below expectations for a 0.1% rise.
Support is at 1.6380 and resistance awaits at 1.65. For more lines, events and analysis, see the GBPUSD forecast.
