UK: Manufacturing PMI declines to 56.9 in January vs. 57.9 expected

• UK Manufacturing and Services PMIs came in slightly weaker than expected in January.
• GBP/USD continues to edge lower with the initial reaction.

Manufacturing PMI in the UK declined to 56.9 in early January from 57.9 in December, IHS Markit reported on Monday. This print came in worse than the market expectation of 57.9.

Further details of the publication revealed that the business activity in the services sector expanded at a softer pace than it did in December with the Services PMI edging lower to 53.3 from 53.6. 

Assessing the survey's findings, "a resilient rate of economic growth in the UK during January masks wide variations across different sectors," explained Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit. "Consumer-facing businesses have been hit hard by Omicron and manufacturers have reported a further worrying weakening of order book growth, but other business sectors have remained encouragingly robust." 

Market reaction

GBP/USD came under renewed bearish pressure on PMI figures and was last seen losing 0.17% on the day at 1.3529.