UK Preliminary Services PMI leaps to 53.6 in August vs. 51.8 expected
- UK Services PMI jumped to 53.6 in August, a positive surprise.
- Manufacturing PMI in the UK ticked down to 47.3 in August.
- GBP/USD jumps toward 1.3500 after UK business PMIs.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined to 47.3 in August from 48 in July. The data missed the anticipated 48.3 print in the reported period.
Meanwhile, the Preliminary UK Services Business Activity Index unexpectedly jumped to 53.6 in August versus July’s 51.8 while coming in above the market forecast of 51.8.
FX implications
The Pound Sterling picks up fresh bids on an upside surprise in the UK Services PMI, as GBP/USD adds 0.08% on the day to 1.3466, as of writing.
(This story was corrected on August 21 at 8.45 GMT to say that "The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined to 47.3," not 57.3)
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 Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.05% | -0.09% | 0.18% | 0.02% | 0.10% | -0.06% | 0.13% | |
| EUR | 0.05% | -0.05% | 0.19% | 0.06% | 0.22% | 0.04% | 0.17% | |
| GBP | 0.09% | 0.05% | 0.24% | 0.12% | 0.28% | 0.09% | 0.23% | |
| JPY | -0.18% | -0.19% | -0.24% | -0.15% | -0.05% | -0.18% | 0.01% | |
| CAD | -0.02% | -0.06% | -0.12% | 0.15% | 0.05% | -0.09% | 0.10% | |
| AUD | -0.10% | -0.22% | -0.28% | 0.05% | -0.05% | -0.10% | 0.04% | |
| NZD | 0.06% | -0.04% | -0.09% | 0.18% | 0.09% | 0.10% | 0.14% | |
| CHF | -0.13% | -0.17% | -0.23% | -0.01% | -0.10% | -0.04% | -0.14% |
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.
