The British Pound has advanced against the majority of its peers after data showed that the nation’s dominant services sector recorded its strongest rate of growth in April since last year’s Olympic Games.
According to the Markit/CIPS services Purchasing Managers Index, the sector improved to 52.9 in April, its highest reading since August and the fourth consecutive rise. Most economists had been expecting the figure to stay at March’s level of 52.4. Any number below 50 marks a contraction.
The data has added to signs that the UK’s slow economic recovery could be gaining speed and will be a relief to the coalition government after it received a drubbing at in the UK local council elections.
Markit’s combined index of services, manufacturing and construction in Britain rose for a fourth consecutive month to 52.1, also the highest since last August. That was up from 51.0 in March.
“The data suggest that the return to growth enjoyed by the economy in the first quarter persisted and may have gained momentum at the start of the second,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at survey compilers Markit. “A broad-based improvement is becoming evident in the UK economy, greatly reducing the likelihood of the Bank of England seeing any need to increase its asset purchases in the immediate future,” Williamson said.
Britain skirted a “triple-dip” recession by growing 0.3 percent in the first three months of this year, a preliminary reading showed last week.
The Euro made gains against the Pound however after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said that the markets over-interpreted the Banks suggestion that it would consider a deposit rate below zero.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5526
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1842
The Pound Sterling/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5144
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.8247
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6440
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8444
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6603
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5480
(As of 10:10 am GMT)
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