The British Pound weakened against the US Dollar, following the United Kingdom Manufacturing PMI release on Monday at 08:30 GMT. The GBP/USD exchange currency rate lost 23 pips or 0.18% at the time of the release. The British Pound kept going downwards after the data release to continue trading at the 1.28 area.
The Markit released Manufacturing PMI data came lower-than-expected. Namely, it was 52.8, compared with the forecast of 53.9.
The PMI report said: "August saw further signs of slowdown in the UK manufacturing sector. Rates of expansion in output and new orders eased following the first contraction in new export business for over two years. The subdued performance of the sector also transmitted itself to the labor market, with the pace of manufacturing job creation slumping to near-stagnation".
| Historical Data Table: Manufacturing PMI | Economic Calendar for 04.09.2018 | ||||||||
| Date | 03.04.2018 | 01.05.2018 | 01.05.2018 | 02.07.2018 | 03.09.2018 | 08:30AM | UK Construction PMI | ||
| Actual | 55.1 | 53.9 | 54.4 | 54.4 | 52.8 | 12:15 PM | UK Inflation Report Hearings | ||
| Forecast | 54.8 | 54.8 | 53.5 | 54.1 | 53.9 | 14:00 PM | US ISM Manufacturing PMI | ||
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
| GBP/USD | 1.2907 | 1.28873 | -0.15% | GBP/USD | 58.52% | 41.48% | |||
| EUR/GBP | 0.89973 | 0.90108 | 0.15% | EUR/GBP | 29.83% | 70.17% | |||
| GBP/CAD | 1.68465 | 1.68203 | -0.16% | GBP/CAD | 70.58% | 29.42% | |||
| GBP/JPY | 143.31 | 143.081 | -0.16% | GBP/JPY | 51.31% | 48.69% | |||