The Sterling appreciated against the US Dollar, as the UK manufacturing sector reported a stronger-than-expected growth in August. GBP/USD rose to the 1.2930 mark to sustain the appreciation up until the US economic reports.
The weakness in the British Pound resulted in a boost of new orders coming from the US and Europe, which supported expansion of the UK manufacturing sector. Markit reported that the country's Manufacturing PMI rose to the 56.9 mark in August, though remained below the 57.4 figure registered in the Euro zone. However, the sector is still expected to maintain positive growth in the near term given support from a solid recovery in the EZ and higher export competitiveness.
| Historical Data Table: Manufacturing PMI | |||||
| Date | 02.05.2017 | 01.06.2017 | 03.07.2017 | 01.08.2017 | 01.09.2017 |
| Actual | 57.3 | 56.3 | 54.2 | 55.1 | 56.9 |
| Forecast | 54 | 56.5 | 56.4 | 54.4 | 55.1 |
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | |||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | |||
| GBP/USD | 1.29212 | 1.29302 | 0.07% | ||
| EUR/GBP | 0.92085 | 0.92024 | -0.07% | ||
| GBP/CAD | 1.61355 | 1.61437 | 0.05% | ||
| GBP/JPY | 142.207 | 142.312 | 0.07% | ||