UK flash Composite PMI rises to 52.1, beats 51.4 estimates

Sagar Dua FXStreet

United Kingdom’s (UK) preliminary S&P Global Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) comes in higher at 52.1 compared to expectations of 51.4 and the November's reading of 51.2. The Services and the Manufacturing PMI jumps to 52.1 and 51.2, respectively.

"December’s flash PMI surveys brought welcome news on faster economic growth at the end of the year, with businesses buoyed in part by the post-Budget lifting of uncertainty. The PMI is consistent with GDP growth accelerating to 0.2% in December, albeit with a more modest 0.1% gain signalled for the fourth quarter as a whole," Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said.

Market reaction

GBP/USD gains further around 1.3400 following the release of the UK PMI data.

Pound Sterling 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 Canadian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.05%	-0.27%	-0.26%	0.02%	0.00%	-0.05%	-0.04%
EUR	0.05%		-0.23%	-0.22%	0.07%	0.06%	-0.00%	0.00%
GBP	0.27%	0.23%		0.00%	0.30%	0.29%	0.22%	0.24%
JPY	0.26%	0.22%	0.00%		0.29%	0.28%	0.21%	0.23%
CAD	-0.02%	-0.07%	-0.30%	-0.29%		-0.02%	-0.07%	-0.05%
AUD	-0.01%	-0.06%	-0.29%	-0.28%	0.02%		-0.07%	-0.04%
NZD	0.05%	0.00%	-0.22%	-0.21%	0.07%	0.07%		0.00%
CHF	0.04%	-0.01%	-0.24%	-0.23%	0.05%	0.04%	-0.01%

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

Sagar Dua

FXStreet

Sagar Dua is associated with the financial markets from his college days. Along with pursuing post-graduation in Commerce in 2014, he started his markets training with chart analysis.

GBP/USD drops to multi-week lows below 1.3300

GBP/USD sets aside Friday’s uptick and breaches below the 1.3300 yardstcik on Monday to hit new multi-week troughs. Falling crude oil prices following a pause in the Middle East conflict in combination with the recent soft reading in UK inflation appear to play against any BoE tightening ahead of the bank’s event later in the week.

EUR/USD advances marginally around 1.1380

EUR/USD loses bullish momentum and slips back below the 1.1400 region at the beginning of the week. Hopes of a de-escalation in the Middle East appears to lend support to the pair, although uncertainty persists over whether the US and Iran can reach a lasting solution.

Gold struggles to extend gains beyond $4,100

Spot Gold gapped higher at the beginning of the new week, as a pause in Middle East hostilities underpinned the mood and weighed on the US Dollar (USD). The XAU/USD pair traded as high as $4,116.20 during Asian trading hours, following a pause in strikes between Iran and the United States (US).

Bitcoin holds above key support amid ETF inflows, US-Iran bombing pause

Bitcoin (BTC) holds above the key 200-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) around $63,500, having posted four consecutive weeks of gains. Institutional demand shows mild signs of improvement with spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) posting inflows for a third consecutive week.

Bitcoin options traders are dropping their hedges going into the Fed meeting

Bitcoin's options market has turned notably less defensive over the past month, unwinding the downside protection traders built up in June just as the Federal Reserve prepares to meet.

US Dollar mid-year outlook: Exceptional currency, exceptional risks?

The US Dollar enters the second half of 2026 in a markedly different position from a year ago. The King currency has recovered, reflecting persistent US inflation, changing expectations for Fed policy, geopolitical tensions and renewed demand for defensive assets.