Unexpectedly upbeat data helped to lift the Pound Sterling against the US Dollar and the Euro. Investors have been looking to data for clarification of an economy that is maintaining momentum in the wake of the June referendum to leave the E.U. Two key pieces of data helped to cement sentiment; first consumer confidence, as reported by GfK, rose from -12 in July to -7 in August, and though still in negative territory it moves off the largest fall in more than 26 years. Moreover, Nationwide, the mortgage lender, said that housing prices edged 5.6% higher in August, year-on-year, and were improved from the 5.2% recorded in July, beating estimates of 4.8%.
As reported at 10:52 am (BST) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.3129, up 0.37%; the pair has ranged from a session trough of $1.307 and a peak of $1.316. The EUR/GBP was down 0.34% to trade at 0.8491 Pence, not far from the session low of 0.8470 Pence while the session peak was at 0.8533 Pence.
Looming PMI to Influence Sentiment
Markets will turn their focus now to the September release of PMI data for the manufacturing, services and construction sectors. The consensus is that the surveys should all show an improvement in activity. Any disappointment could weigh on the Pound as it could influence the policymakers at the Bank of England who already have a relatively dovish leaning. Since the June vote, the Pound had lost about 14% of its value against the Dollar and recovered only about 2%.