UK Preliminary Services PMI rises to 51.4 in December vs. 51.0 expected
- UK Services PMI edged higher to 51.4 in December, beat estimates.
- Manufacturing PMI in the UK fell further to 47.3 in December.
- GBP/USD extends gains above 1.2650 after UK business PMIs.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) contracted further to 47.3 in December from 48.0 in November. The data missed the market consensus of 48.1
Meanwhile, the Preliminary UK Services Business Activity Index rose to 51.4 in December after registering 50.8 in November while bettering expectations of 51.0.
Commenting on the flash PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said: “Businesses are reporting a triple whammy of gloomy news as 2024 comes to a close, with economic growth stalled, employment slumping and inflation back on the rise.“
FX implications
GBP/USD builds on gains to regain 1.2650 after the mixed UK PMI data. The pair is adding 0.38% 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 strongest against the US Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.13% | -0.37% | 0.02% | -0.06% | -0.21% | -0.33% | -0.38% | |
| EUR | 0.13% | -0.18% | 0.26% | 0.14% | 0.09% | -0.12% | -0.18% | |
| GBP | 0.37% | 0.18% | 0.31% | 0.32% | 0.27% | 0.04% | -0.01% | |
| JPY | -0.02% | -0.26% | -0.31% | -0.08% | -0.22% | -0.32% | -0.31% | |
| CAD | 0.06% | -0.14% | -0.32% | 0.08% | -0.10% | -0.28% | -0.33% | |
| AUD | 0.21% | -0.09% | -0.27% | 0.22% | 0.10% | -0.21% | -0.28% | |
| NZD | 0.33% | 0.12% | -0.04% | 0.32% | 0.28% | 0.21% | -0.07% | |
| CHF | 0.38% | 0.18% | 0.00% | 0.31% | 0.33% | 0.28% | 0.07% |
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).
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
