© Reuters. The book touches a peak daily figures
Investing.com – The pound sterling reached its highest of the day on Tuesday, jumping half a percent against the dollar after data showing that the services sector in the Uk has increased at a faster pace than expected in may.
The GBP / USD was up 0.48% to 1,3375 at 05:15 AM (09:15 AM GMT), at 1.3332.
The pound sterling has been boosted by data showing that the uk economy is showing signs of recovery after its recent slowdown, increasing expectations that the Bank of England may raise its interest rates in August.
The research firm Markit reported that its index services director, rose from 52.8 in April to 54.0 in may. Economists had expected a reading of 52.9 on a scale where any reading above 50 indicates expansion.
The improvement in activity in the services sector has reinforced the tendency to rebound of the economy in the second quarter, but the companies have noted that the uncertainty related to the Brexit remained a key limiting factor decision-making among customers.
Employment in the sector grew at the second lowest rate since march of 2017, ” the report said.
The pound sterling was also stronger against the euro, with EUR / GBP down 0.42% to 0,8747, compared to about 0,8781 previously.
In the euro zone, data on Tuesday showed that business activity slowed again in may. The final reading of the composite PMI index of the euro area has fallen to its lowest level in 18 months, namely to 54.1, compared to 55,1 in April.
A slowdown of growth in the region since the beginning of the year, combined with political uncertainty has hampered the prospects of the economy of the euro area.
The euro was stable against the dollar, with the EUR / USD at 1.1694.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, was down slightly at 93,96.
