Pound Extends Slide As U.K. Factory Activity Slows, European Shares Fall
01 September 2015 - 3:47PM
RTTF2
The pound continued to trade in a negative territory in European
deals on Tuesday, as weak manufacturing data out of China stocked
concerns over global growth and as U.K. manufacturing growth slowed
more-than-expected in August.
An official gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity slumped to a
three-year low in August and Caixin's final August PMI number
indicated that activity in China's vast factory sector shrank at
its fastest pace in almost six-and-a-half years in the month,
raising fears of a hard landing for the world's second largest
economy. The usually strong services sector fared better, although
the PMI dropped to 53.4 from 53.9 the previous month.
Investors ignored fresh support measures announced by the
government, including relaxation in housing investment rules for
the second time in two weeks and policies to support mergers and
acquisitions involving listed firms.
Survey figures from the Chartered Institute of Procurement &
Supply and Markit Economics showed that U.K. manufacturing
expansion slowed in August, defying expectations for a modest
improvement.
The purchasing managers' index fell to 51.5 from 51.9 in July.
Economists had expected a score of 52.
The pound experienced mixed trading in the previous session.
While the currency advanced against the greenback, it fell against
the rest of major rivals.
The pound depreciated to 183.21 against the Japanese yen, its
lowest since August 24, and was down by 1.4 percent from Monday's
closing value of 185.87. The pound is likely to challenge support
around the 180.00 zone.
The pound fell to 1.5309 against the greenback for the first
time since June 9. Further weakness may take the pound to a support
around the 1.50 area. At yesterday's close, the pair was valued at
1.5341.
The pound reversed from an early high of 1.4845 against the
Swiss franc, declining to a 6-day low of 1.4687. If the pound
continues decline, it may possibly locate support around the 1.44
level. The pound was trading at 1.4836 against the franc at
yesterday's close.
Pulling away from an early high of 0.7300 against the euro, the
pound slipped to an 8-day low of 0.7372. The pair finished Monday's
deals at 0.7304. On the downside, 0.75 is possibly seen as the next
support level for the pound.
Looking ahead, Canada GDP data for second quarter, Markit's
final U.S. manufacturing PMI for August, the Institute for Supply
Management's manufacturing PMI for August and construction spending
data for July are slated for release in the New York session.
At 12:00 pm ET, Swiss National Bank head Thomas Jordan addresses
a business gathering in Zurich. Subsequently, Federal Reserve Bank
of Boston President Eric Rosengren is expected to speak on the
economic outlook before the Forecasters Club of New York at 1:10 pm
ET.
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