The GBP/USD kept declining gradually after the weaker-than-anticipated Britain's manufacturing PMI figures. The Sterling fell against the US Dollar by 11 base points to rebound from the 1.3305 mark, but continued to consolidate nearing the 1.3280 area additionally fuelled by US economic report bullish sentiment for the Greenback.
Markit report showed on Monday that the UK Manufacturing PMI fell to 55.9 points in September, below initially anticipated 56.4 points. The decline in the Index was related to the strengthening of the British Pound, which made manufactured products less attractive to be purchased. Meanwhile, the pair partially lost its gains due to expectations for the BoE interest rate increase in November.
| Historical Data Table: UK Manufacturing PMI | |||||
| Date | 01.06.2017 | 03.07.2017 | 01.08.2017 | 01.09.2017 | 02.10.2017 |
| Actual | 56.3 | 54.2 | 55.1 | 56.9 | 55.9 |
| Forecast | 56.5 | 56.4 | 54.4 | 55 | 56.3 |
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | |||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | |||
| GBP/USD | 1.33165 | 1.33055 | -0.08% | ||
| EUR/GBP | 0.88188 | 0.88275 | 0.10% | ||
| GBP/CAD | 1.66685 | 1.66506 | -0.11% | ||
| GBP/JPY | 150.409 | 150.134 | -0.18% | ||