Currency news

Will PMI numbers illustrate UK/EU growth divergence?

Head of FX Analysis at Equals Money
-
3
min read
Published:
September 23, 2024
    • EU PMIs expected to show a miserable September
    • GBP is expected to garner further support this morning


    Currency recap

    Riding on the coat-tails of Friday morning's retail sales numbers, as well as divergent interest rate policies favouring the currency, GBP finished the week higher.

    JPY was the loser of the day following the dovish interpretation of BoJ Governor Ueda’s comments on future rate policy. Meanwhile the USD received some support from this sentiment.

    Today's GBP rates

    Currency pair Daily move* Indicative rate**
    GBPAUD 0.34% 1.9561
    GBPCAD 0.12% 1.8030
    GBPCHF 0.32% 1.1298
    GBPDKK 0.10% 8.8862
    GBPEUR 0.10% 1.1914
    GBPJPY 1.15% 191.6520
    GBPNOK 0.37% 13.9902
    GBPNZD 0.30% 2.1361
    GBPSEK 0.50% 13.5675
    GBPUSD -0.08% 1.3275


    *Daily move - against
    G10 rates at 7:30am, 23.09.24

    ** Indicative rates - interbank rates at 7:30am, 23.09.24

    Key data points

    Currency Event Period Consensus Previous
    EUR Manufacturing PMI Sept 45.70 45.80
    EUR Services PMI Sept 52.30 52.90
    EUR Composite PMI Sept 50.50 51.00
    GBP Manufacturing PMI Sept 52.20 52.50
    GBP Services PMI Sept 53.50 53.70
    GBP Composite PMI Sept 53.50 53.80

    What we think

    PMI survey numbers out later today will help gauge economic performance from Europe and the UK.

    Europe's numbers are not expected to show a pretty picture, with more misery predicted from the manufacturing sector. UK PMIs, on the other hand, are expected to be better, presenting a clear divergence between the UK and Europe's September performance. Should this be the case, GBP should outperform the EUR.

    French PMI numbers, already out this morning, reveal a surprise decline in the services sector.

    USD is getting some support following the negative moves on JPY at the end of last week. This week will be reliant on updates from Federal Reserve meetings and core PCE numbers on Friday. These will reveal if the currency can stay above its current support levels and temper expectations of another 50 bps rate cut in November.

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