The Pound found support from data which showed that house prices in the UK rose for a 25th consecutive month in March and as construction data showed that the sector was still performing strongly.
According to the Nationwide Building Society the average price of a house in the UK rose by 0.4% to £180,264. The boom in the housing market continues to support the nation’s overall economy but some economists have warned that measures could be taken to prevent an overheating of the market.
A separate report released by Markit showed that a surge in house building continued to support the UK construction sector. According to its Construction Purchasing Managers Index activity softened slightly to 62.5 in March a move lower from the previous month’s figure of 62.6.
The figure was below economist expectations for a rise to 63. The report also showed that optimism among UK builders rose to its highest level since January 2007 and new job creation in the sector increased as its fastest pace in four months.
“As the rain gave way to sun, the housing market reclaimed its spot as the star performer. Commercial activity continued to rise strongly, benefitting from the positive business conditions. By contrast, civil engineering activity slowed somewhat, perhaps not that surprising following last month’s stellar figures,” said David Noble, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.
The Pound could make further gains on Thursday if the latest services PMI report comes in strongly.
Pound (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,1.6651 ,
Pound Sterling,,Euro,1.2075 ,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.8016 ,
Pound Sterling,,Canadian Dollar,1.8336 ,
[/table]
Comments are closed.