RTTN: Pound Mixed Against Majors; UK Construction Sector Growth Exceeds Predictions
(RTTNews) - The pound showed mixed performance on Tuesday after a report showed that the construction sector in the United Kingdom expanded at the fastest pace in twenty-one months in March as new orders increased significantly, and companies became more optimistic about the outlook.
A survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) showed that the seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index for the construction sector rose to 56.7 in March from 54.3 in February.
The index has stayed above the no-change 50 mark, which separates growth from contraction, in every month since January 2011. The latest growth was the biggest in the past 21 months. Economists expected the index to drop to 53.4 in March.
Meanwhile, the European markets erased early gains in afternoon trading as growth worries continued to dissuade investors from buying risky assets. The German DAX is falling 0.35 percent, the French CAC 40 is losing 0.60 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is dropping 0.32 percent.
The pound has been in a bearish trend against its US counterpart since it touched a new multi-month peak of 1.6065 late Monday, with the pair slipping back to below the 1.60 area again. The cable bought at 1.5984 just ahead of the North American trading and the level at yesterday's bottom is in the offing.
The sterling also reached as low as 1.4439 against the Swiss franc and 0.8340 against the euro before erasing some of their gains around 6:00 am ET. Against the yen, the British unit traded in a range of 131.76 and 131.28 most of the early European trading after having reached a 4-day low of 130.81 in the Asian session.
Eurozone producer price inflation eased to 3.6 percent year-on-year in February from a revised 3.8 percent in January, Eurostat said today. The inflation rate, nonetheless, stayed above the consensus forecast of 3.5 percent.
On a monthly basis, the industrial producer price index climbed 0.6 percent, following a 0.8 percent gain in January. Economists were expecting an increase of 0.5 percent.
Looking ahead, the U.S. Commerce Department's report on factory goods orders for February and the Federal Reserve's minutes of its March 13th meeting are the key events to watch in the New York session.
