A positive surprise from the UK: April’s Manufacturing PMI leaps to 57.3 points, reflecting strong growth in this sector. Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for the British economy was expected to remain almost unchanged, rising from 55.3 to 55.4 points. The figure for March was upgraded to 55.8 points.
GBP/USD traded around 1.6890 before the release, just below the highs of 1.69 seen yesterday. GBP/USD reached 1.6919 at the time of writing. — more coming
Update: after the initial surge, GBP/USD is now hugging 1.69 and hesitates before another move higher. Nevertheless, the pair is at a new 4.5 year high. These are the highest levels since late 2009.
More figures from the UK:
- Mortgage approvals for March were expected to tick up from 70.3K to 71K in February. Actual: 67,135.
- Consumer credit carried expectations for 0.6 billion after 0.55 in February. Actual: 1.13 billion.
- M4 money supply for March was expected to rise 0.9% m/m. Actual: -2.3%. Y/y -0.3%.
- Net lending for individuals was forecast to stand at 2.3 billion in March, like the previous month. Actual: 2.9 billion.
Some figures are better than others, and they don’t change the general positive picture seen via the top tier manufacturing PMI.
All in all, the UK economy is doing quite well, and this is reflected in a strong and steady pound sterling.
Can it tackle the round 1.70 level or the post crisis high of 1.7042?
For more, see the GBP/USD prediction.
Tomorrow we will get the construction PMI, which stood out at high levels in recent months. On Tuesday, the services PMI will probably have the strongest impact: this is the UK’s largest sector.
