The GBP/USD exchange rate fell in a wake of disappointing Britain's construction PMI report to continue trading in a wide-range dynamics. The US Dollar strengthened against the British Pound by 10 base points to find a temporary resistance at the 1.2950 level.
Markit reported that the UK construction PMI slumped unexpectedly to the weakest level in a year of 51.1 with the strongest hit from falling investment in the commercial sector, which reflected overall Brexit pressure on the country's economic growth. The reading was close to the 50 mark indicating stagnation within the sector, which is likely to be reached if Brexit talks keep moving forward slowly, forcing the UK firms to free up offices and sap demand for commercial projects.
| Historical Data Table: UK Construction PMI | |||||
| Date | 03.05.2017 | 02.06.2017 | 04.07.2017 | 02.08.2017 | 04.09.2017 |
| Actual | 53.1 | 56 | 54.8 | 51.9 | 51.1 |
| Forecast | 52.1 | 52.7 | 55 | 54.3 | 51.9 |
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | |||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | |||
| GBP/USD | 1.295 | 1.29403 | -0.07% | ||
| EUR/GBP | 0.91999 | 0.92048 | 0.05% | ||
| GBP/CAD | 1.60689 | 1.60586 | -0.06% | ||
| GBP/JPY | 141.71 | 141.689 | -0.01% | ||