A great positive surprise from the UK: the manufacturing sector is now growing much faster, with 55.5 points in Markit’s PMI. Is Britain producing at full speed? The jump is certainly welcome.
GBP/USD extends its gains and almost reaches 1.55. A stronger pound is also seen against other currencies, with EUR/GBP falling to 0.7111. GBP/USD is at 186.82
Markit was expected to report a small drop in the UK’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, from 51.15 in September to 51.3 in October.
GBP/USD was rising towards the release, trading around 1.5450.
The manufacturing sector has been the weaker link in the British economy but despite the recent slides, it remained in growth territory: above 50 points. This is the first of three PMIs due out this week: construction comes tomorrow and services on Wednesday.
And then, it’s the Bank Of England’s “Super Thursdayâ€: the rate decision, meeting minutes and the quarterly inflation report all at the same time. We will get to hear how the central bank is advancing towards a rate hike.
GBP has shown relative resilience in the wake of the hawkish Fed decision last week. The BOE is expected to hike after the Fed.
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