Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the U.K. expanded at a faster rate than expected in January, easing concerns over the country’s economic outlook, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, market research group Markit said that its U.K. manufacturing PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.0 last month from a reading of 52.7 in December. Analysts had expected the index to inch down to 52.6 in January.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Commenting on the report, Rob Dobson, senior economist at survey compiler Markit, said, “At this rate, the sector will provide little meaningful boost to the economy in the first quarter."
He added that, "Waning inflationary pressures will provide the Bank of England with leeway to push back the first rate increase to late-2015 at the earliest."
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5065 from around 1.5047 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7516 from 0.7522 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to modest gains. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.3%, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.2%, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.25%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.6%.