LONDON: Sterling sank by a full cent against the dollar after a survey of UK services sector purchasing managers index came in sharply below forecasts.
The slowdown from April was the fastest in nearly four years and, combined with a weak manufacturing survey and a bounce in construction, showed growth across the three sectors in May was the slowest since December.
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The pound fell to $1.5263 from $1.5357 in response before gaining a foothold. It also weakened to 72.97 pence per euro from 72.57 pence before the numbers.
British government bond futures briefly pared losses by around 10 ticks, before returning to their level before the data, down around 30 ticks on the day. Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 equity index remained flat at 6,930 points.
