The Pound was mixed against the Euro in Thursday’s session but is expected to resume its upward movement over the next few weeks as data is expected to add further credence to the UK’s economic recovery.
The Euro came under broad pressure today due to the release of a number of below par PMI reports for the regions manufacturing and services sectors. Data out of France in particular knocked the single currency as the nation’s manufacturing index fell to a 2-month low of 48.5 and its services slumped to a nine-month low of 46.9. A figure below 50 indicates contraction.
Unemployment data out of the Netherlands also weighed as it showed the jobless rate edged higher last month to 8.6%, above forecasts for a rate of 8.3%.
With a recent run of reports indicating that the Eurozone recovery is struggling to gain momentum the Pound has been able to push higher as in comparison data continues to support the view that the UK economy is picking up speed.
The Pound found some support against the Euro earlier in the session after a report showed that factory orders in the UK made a modest rebound this month. According to the Confederation of British Industry its monthly industrial trends order book rose to +3 this month, a jump from the -2 recorded in January. The figure was well above the average level of -17 but just shy of forecasters expectations for a figure of +5.
The GBP/EUR pair is forecast to stay above the 1.21 this week but could push higher next week if UK data continues to show improvement.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates:
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Pound Sterling,
,US Dollar,1.6667 ,
Pound Sterling,,Euro,1.2151 ,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.8599 ,
Pound Sterling,,Canadian Dollar,1.8464 ,
[/table]
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