Investing.com – Sterling trimmed gains against the euro on Wednesday, retreating from a seven-day high, following a report showing that the U.K. construction sector contracted more-than-expected in December.
EUR/GBP eased back from 0.8484, the pair’s lowest since December 27, to hit 0.851 during European morning trade, shedding 0.3%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 0.8447, the low of December 21 and resistance at 0.8636, Tuesday’s high.
The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers' Index for December fell to 49.1 from 51.8 in November. Analysts had expected the PMI to decline to 51.1 in December.
The report said that output had been hit by the exceptionally harsh December weather.
Sarah Ledger, economist at Markit, said: “Growth has been subdued in recent months, largely due to contractions in residential construction, signaling that business conditions in the sector were not conducive to a large overall expansion in activity."
Meanwhile, the pound was lower against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD slipping 0.02% to hit 1.5583.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that industrial new orders in the euro zone rose slightly less-than-expected in October, climbing 1.4%, less than the forecasted 1.6% increase.
EUR/GBP eased back from 0.8484, the pair’s lowest since December 27, to hit 0.851 during European morning trade, shedding 0.3%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 0.8447, the low of December 21 and resistance at 0.8636, Tuesday’s high.
The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers' Index for December fell to 49.1 from 51.8 in November. Analysts had expected the PMI to decline to 51.1 in December.
The report said that output had been hit by the exceptionally harsh December weather.
Sarah Ledger, economist at Markit, said: “Growth has been subdued in recent months, largely due to contractions in residential construction, signaling that business conditions in the sector were not conducive to a large overall expansion in activity."
Meanwhile, the pound was lower against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD slipping 0.02% to hit 1.5583.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that industrial new orders in the euro zone rose slightly less-than-expected in October, climbing 1.4%, less than the forecasted 1.6% increase.