Finally some good news from the UK: the services PMI for November advanced to 55.9 points, better than 55 expected.
GBP/USD doesn’t really budge and remains depressed. The move seems more related to a strengthening of the US dollar rather than outright weakness in the pound.
The low so far has been 1.4904. The euro is also sliding against the dollar.
Markit was expected to report a small rise in the purchasing managers’ index for the services sector: from 54.9 to 55 points. This is the largest sector in the UK, and the publication has the biggest impact.
GBP/USD traded around 1.4930 towards the release
Earlier in the week, both the manufacturing and the construction PMIs disappointed. Together with hawkishness from the Fed and some stop-loss triggering, we had a collapse of GBP/USD.
Support awaits at 1.49 with real support only at 1.48. Resistance is initially at 1.4950, followed by 1.50 and 1.5060.
The Bank of England has been dovish lately, contrary to the hawkish Fed. However, markets still expect the BOE to raise rates after the Federal Reserve does.
Here is the chart:
