After all purchasing managers’ indices have been released in the UK, a rather unconvincing picture of the economy can be seen, just before George Osborne releases his Autumn Statement.
All these figures weighed on GBP/USD, which is finding it hard to continue the rally.
The most important sector, services, is hardly growing: PMI fell from 50.6 to 50.2, short of expectations for a rise to 51.1 points. This sector has been stable so far, but it is on the verge of contracting.
Manufacturing PMI actually provided a surprise to the upside, jumping from 47.3 to 49.1 points and exceeding predictions of a more modest rise to 48.1. Nevertheless, the figure still points to contraction.
And in the construction sector, the figure dropped below 50: from 50.9 to 49.3, falling short of expectations to remain almost unchanged.
The Bank of England is expected to leave monetary policy unchanged: no change in the interest rate (0.50%) and no change in the Asset Purchase Facility program (QE), which stands at 375 billion pounds.
Cable is now trading at 1.6095, slipping below 1.61. It has support at around 1.6085, which provided a cushion so far this week. 1.6130 was the top side.
In general, the pair is trading in a wide range between 1.60 and 1.63.
For more, see the GBP/USD forecast.
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