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The Sterling rose markedly against the US Dollar ahead the report on the UK manufacturing sector. Thought, weaker-than-anticipated data dampened USD/GBP with the exchange rate falling 11 base points or 0.08% initially.
Britain's manufacturing sector lost some strength in growth momentum last month, as factory activity was held back by common weakness in the country's economy in preparation for Brexit. The Markit/CIPS reported that the UK Manufacturing PMI fell to 55.3 in January, the lowest level in seven months, but still above the 52.7 long-term average. Relatively strong figures suggested that manufacturing outlook is likely to remain bright on behalf of exports.
| Historical Data Table: UK Manufacturing PMI | Economic Calendar for 02.02.2018 | ||||||||
| Date | 02.10.2017 | 01.11.2017 | 01.12.2017 | 02.01.2018 | 01.02.2018 | 1:30 PM | US Average Hourly Earnings | ||
| Actual | 55.9 | 56.3 | 58.2 | 56.3 | 55.3 | 1:30 PM | US Unemployment Rate | ||
| Forecast | 56.3 | 55.8 | 56.6 | 58.0 | 56.5 | 7:30 PM | FOMC Wiliams Speech | ||
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
| GBP/USD | 1.42644 | 1.4253 | -0.08% | GBP/USD | 52.68% | 47.32% | |||
| EUR/GBP | 0.87277 | 0.87301 | 0.03% | EUR/GBP | 43.16% | 56.84% | |||
| GBP/CAD | 1.75493 | 1.75432 | -0.03% | GBP/CAD | 45.75% | 54.25% | |||
| GBP/JPY | 156.335 | 156.229 | -0.07% | GBP/JPY | 25.15% | 74.85% | |||