- UK Manufacturing PMI beats estimates with 66.1 in May.
- Services PMI in the UK eases to 61.8 in May, a miss.
- GBP/USD keeps its range below 1.4200 amid mixed UK PMIs.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 66.1 in May, the highest since Jan 1992, versus 60.0 expected and 60.9 – April’s final reading.
Meanwhile, the Flash UK Services Business Activity Index for May rose to 61.8 versus April’s final readout of 61.0 and 62.0 expected. The index reached the highest levels in 93 months.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, commented on the survey
“The UK is enjoying an unprecedented growth spurt as the economy reopens. Factory orders are surging at a record pace as global demand for goods continues to revive, and the service sector is reporting near-record growth as the opening up of the economy allows more businesses to trade. Business confidence has meanwhile hit an all-time high as concerns about the impact of the pandemic continue to fade.”
"The strongest upturns in demand were reported for hotels, restaurants and other consumer-facing services, though improvements were reported across the board in all sectors.”
FX implications
The mixed UK Preliminary Manufacturing and Services PMIs had a limited impact on the pound, as GBP/USD whipsawed on the data release.
The spot was last seen trading at 1.4183, having faced rejection once again near 1.4200.