UK Preliminary Services PMI slips to 51.8 in October vs. 52.2 expected
- UK Services PMI drops further to 51.8 in October, misses estimates.
- Manufacturing PMI in the UK fell to 50.3 in October.
- GBP/USD trims gains to near 1.2960 after UK business PMIs.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) eased to 50.3 in October from 51.5 in September. The data missed the market forecast of 51.4.
Meanwhile, the Preliminary UK Services Business Activity Index declined to 51.8 in October after recording 52.4 in September while falling short of expectations of 52.2.
Commenting on the flash PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said: “Business activity growth has slumped to its lowest for nearly a year in October as gloomy government rhetoric and uncertainty ahead of the Budget has dampened business confidence and spending.“
FX implications
GBP/USD pares back gains to revisit 1.2950 after the dismal UK PMI data. The pair is adding 0.24% on the day, as of writing.
British Pound PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.15% | -0.22% | -0.52% | -0.15% | -0.33% | -0.38% | -0.06% | |
| EUR | 0.15% | -0.09% | -0.36% | -0.01% | -0.19% | -0.24% | 0.06% | |
| GBP | 0.22% | 0.09% | -0.30% | 0.08% | -0.11% | -0.15% | 0.16% | |
| JPY | 0.52% | 0.36% | 0.30% | 0.36% | 0.18% | 0.10% | 0.46% | |
| CAD | 0.15% | 0.00% | -0.08% | -0.36% | -0.17% | -0.23% | 0.09% | |
| AUD | 0.33% | 0.19% | 0.11% | -0.18% | 0.17% | -0.03% | 0.26% | |
| NZD | 0.38% | 0.24% | 0.15% | -0.10% | 0.23% | 0.03% | 0.31% | |
| CHF | 0.06% | -0.06% | -0.16% | -0.46% | -0.09% | -0.26% | -0.31% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).