Pound Rises As U.K. Services Growth Rebounds More-Than-Expected
April 05 2017 - 1:24AM
RTTF2
The British pound strengthened against the other major
currencies in the early European session on Wednesday, after data
showed that U.K. services growth rebounded more-than-expected in
March.
Data from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement
and Supply showed that the U.K. CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index for
the services sector rose to 55.0 in March from February's 5-month
low of 53.3. Economists had expected the index increase slightly to
53.4.
Both output and new orders climbed at the sharpest pace in three
months. Despite this, the rate of job creation in March was only
marginal and the weakest recorded since August 2016.
In the Asian trading today, the pound held steady against its
major rivals.
In the European trading, the pound rose to 0.8548 against the
euro, from an early 5-day low of 0.8589. The pound may test
resistance near the 0.84 region.
Against the U.S. dollar, the yen and the Swiss franc, the pound
advanced to 1.2489, 138.27 and 1.2511 from early lows of 1.2423,
137.46 and 1.2450, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend,
it is likely to find resistance around 1.26 140.00 against the
greenback, 137.46 against the yen and 1.26 against the franc.
Looking ahead, U.S. ADP private sector jobs data for March, U.S.
Markit's services PMI for March and U.S. crude oil inventories data
are slated for release in the New York session.
At 8:30 am ET, Bank of England external MPC member Gertjan
Vlieghe is expected to speak at Bloomberg, in London.
At 2:00 pm ET, the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting
is due to be published.
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