- Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit
The U.K. economy has lost some of the steam during the first three months of 2014, however, the slowdown was projected to be short-lived and only a result of bad weather conditions. These are official comments from Mark Carney and his team. For now, we have no reasons not to trust them, as the latest fundamental reports are bolstering the case of the ongoing economic recovery.
As always on first days of each month Markit unveils three crucial report from the U.K., including data from manufacturing, construction and services sectors. The first part of data surprised markets to the upside, with the gauge of activity in the manufacturing sector soaring to 57.3 in April, up from a revised 55.8 a month earlier and beating market's projections for 55.4 figure. Manufacturing companies in the U.K. have been more confident since the beginning of the year, and are now moving firmly into the second quarter with expectations for a stronger growth. In April, a report from the CBI showed businesses are upbeat about the next quarter, with growth expectations standing at the highest since 1973, boosted by stronger demand at home and abroad.
On the back of the upbeat data the cable performed a 41-pip rally, which almost the same reaction as in February and December. Moreover, the pair managed to foothold above 1.69-mark.
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