The latest poll in the UK which was conducted by YouGov suggests that the Conservative Party will be able to hold onto its majority stake in the UK Parliament at next week's election. The poll suggests that the Prime Minister's party could win the majority of the 650 seats up for grabs. The news is enough to calm investor jitters over the Brexit deadline at the end of January 2020. There is still some worries that the UK's departure from the European Union's trading bloc will be without a deal in place. The news pushed the Pound to a 7-month peak against the greenback but doubt is creeping back in.
As of 11:23 am in London trading, the GBP/USD was posted at $1.2904, down 0.1841% and moving off the session peak of $1.29411. The EUR/GBP is higher at 0.8535 Pence, a gain of 0.2031%; the pair has ranged from a trough of 0.85136 Pence to a high of 0.85499 Pence.
November PMIs Surprisingly Upbeat
Several manufacturing surveys were released earlier today which had some impact on market sentiment. In China, the Caixin Manufacturing survey for November showed a surprise rise in the reading to 51.8, up from the previous 51.7 and against an expected 51.4. In Japan, the Jibun Bank manufacturing PMI was also higher at 48.9, while economists had called for a flat reading of 48.6. In the Eurozone, the Markit PMI manufacturing surveys for Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France and Germany were all unexpectedly higher than forecasters had predicted. Despite all that, the EUR/USD failed to get much of a bounce with the pair now trading lower at $1.1013, down 0.0399% and off the earlier peak of $1.10280.