UK Preliminary Manufacturing PMI meets estimates with 54.3 in Sept, GBP/USD in lows
|- UK Manufacturing PMI matches estimates with 54.3 in Sept.
- Services PMI in the UK drops to 55.1 in Sept.
- GBP/USD keeps range near two-month lows on the data release.
The UK manufacturing and services sector activities showed mixed performance in September, the preliminary report from IHS Markit showed this Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to a two-month low of 54.3 in September versus 54.3 expected and 55.2 – August’s final reading.
Meanwhile, the Flash UK Services Business Activity Index for September hit a three-month low of 55.1 versus August’s final readout of 58.8 and 56.0 expected.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, commented on the survey
"The UK economy lost some of its bounce in September, as the initial rebound from Covid-19 lockdowns showed signs of fading.”
"It was not surprising to see that the slowdown was especially acute in services, where the restaurant sector in particular saw demand fall sharply as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was withdrawn. Demand for other consumer-facing services also stalled as companies struggled amid new measures introduced to fight rising infection rates and consumers often remained reluctant to spend.”
FX implications
The mixed UK Preliminary Manufacturing and Services PMIs fail to inspire the GBP bulls, as GBP/USD trades pressured just below 1.2700.
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