S&P Global/CIPS Construction PMI comes in at 44.3 against 39.2 consensus

The S&P Global/CIPS Construction PMI for the UK was released today, showing a reading of 44.3. This figure came in above the consensus expectation of 39.2, representing a surprise of 13.0%. The previous month’s reading was 44.7.

Following the release, the British Pound showed varied movement against major currencies over the first 15 minutes. EURGBP moved up 6.6 pips. GBPAUD moved down 16 pips, while GBPCAD declined by 9.3 pips. GBPCHF was down 6.0 pips. GBPJPY fell 11 pips, and GBPNZD decreased by 15 pips. GBPUSD also saw a decline of 9.7 pips. For context, the median 1-hour move for EURGBP after past releases has been 5 pips, and for GBPAUD it has been 12 pips. GBPCAD typically sees a median 1-hour move of 10 pips, GBPCHF 7 pips, GBPJPY 14 pips, GBPNZD 14 pips, and GBPUSD 8 pips. The observed moves for GBPCAD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, GBPNZD, and GBPUSD were relatively small compared to their respective top-quarter historical moves, which are 22+, 15+, 21+, 28+, and 15+ pips respectively. GBPAUD’s 16 pip move was larger than its median 12 pip move but still below its top-quarter 22+ pip move. EURGBP’s 6.6 pip move was larger than its median 5 pip move but below its top-quarter 9+ pip move.