- The Pound Sterling weakens against its peers after soft preliminary UK PMI data for September.
- The UK Composite PMI dropped to 51.0 from 53.5 in August,
- Investors await Fed Powell’s speech for fresh cues on the monetary policy outlook.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) faces pressure against its peers on Tuesday after the release of the weak preliminary United Kingdom (UK) S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for September. The S&P Global reported that the Composite PMI came in lower at 51.0 against estimates of 52.7 and from 53.5 in August, indicating that the overall business activity expanded, but at a moderate pace.
A slowdown in the overall business activity growth came on the back of continued weakness in the manufacturing sector. The Manufacturing PMI contracted to 46.2, while it was expected to remain steady at 47.0. A figure below 50.0 is considered as contraction in business activity. Meanwhile, the Services PMI dropped to 51.9 from estimates of 53.5 and the prior reading of 54.2.
“September’s flash UK PMI survey brought a litany of worrying news including weakening growth, slumping overseas trade, worsening business confidence and further steep job losses,” Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence,said.
A slowdown in the overall UK business activity has come at a time when the Pound Sterling has been under pressure due to the worsening domestic fiscal situation. Mounting UK public debt and surging Gilt yields are weighing on the economic growth outlook, paving the way for more taxes by the government in the release of the Autumn Budget in November.
Last week, the data showed that UK public sector net borrowing hit £18 billion, the highest level seen in five years.
Meanwhile, investors seek fresh cues about whether the Bank of England (BoE) will cut interest rates again in the policy meetings remaining this year. Last week, the BoE held interest rates steady at 4%, as expected, and retained a “gradual and careful” monetary easing approach.
Pound Sterling Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.00% | -0.02% | -0.13% | 0.11% | -0.04% | 0.05% | -0.19% | |
| EUR | -0.01% | 0.11% | -0.14% | 0.17% | 0.03% | 0.10% | -0.14% | |
| GBP | 0.02% | -0.11% | -0.16% | 0.06% | -0.08% | -0.01% | -0.25% | |
| JPY | 0.13% | 0.14% | 0.16% | 0.24% | 0.13% | 0.18% | 0.03% | |
| CAD | -0.11% | -0.17% | -0.06% | -0.24% | -0.15% | -0.07% | -0.31% | |
| AUD | 0.04% | -0.03% | 0.08% | -0.13% | 0.15% | 0.07% | -0.09% | |
| NZD | -0.05% | -0.10% | 0.01% | -0.18% | 0.07% | -0.07% | -0.24% | |
| CHF | 0.19% | 0.14% | 0.25% | -0.03% | 0.31% | 0.09% | 0.24% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
Daily digest market movers: Pound Sterling wobbles against US Dollar
- The Pound Sterling flattens around 1.3500 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Tuesday. The GBP/USD pair consolidates ahead of the speech from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce at 16:35 GMT.
- The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades with caution near Monday’s low at around 97.30 at the press time. The USD Index fell sharply on Monday after failing to extend its three-day winning streak above 97.85.
- Investors will pay close attention to Fed Powell’s speech to get cues about the pace at which the central bank will cut interest rates going forward. In the policy meeting last week, the Fed announced a 25-basis-point (bps) reduction in interest rates, the first of 2025, and signaled two more in the remainder of the year.
- The Fed started the monetary-easing campaign amid a slowing United States (US) job market. On Monday, a slew of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members stated that the rate cut was precautionary to support weakening labor demand. However, FOMC members warned that the central bank needs to remain cautious on further monetary policy expansions as inflation remains well above the 2% target.
- On the contrary, Fed Governor Stephen Miran stated that interest rates should be reduced further by roughly two percentage points to offset risks to employment. ”Fed policy is very restrictive and poses risk to Fed’s employment mandate and I believe appropriate Fed funds rate is in mid-2% area, almost 2 percentage points below current level,” Miran said.
- On the economic front, investors will focus on preliminary US S&P Global PMI data for September, which will be published at 13:45 GMT. The Composite PMI is expected to have remained steady at 54.6, suggesting that the overall business activity expanded at a consistent pace.
Technical Analysis: Pound Sterling trades near lower end of Rising Channel
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The Pound Sterling falls to near 1.3500 against the US Dollar on Tuesday. The near-term trend of the GBP/USD pair remains bearish as it trades below the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), currently hovering around 1.3525. The Cable trades near the lower end of a Rising Channel formation around 1.3470
The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) has fallen sharply below 50.00. A fresh bearish momentum would emerge if the RSI breaks below 40.00.
Looking down, the August 1 low of 1.3140 will act as a key support zone. On the upside, the July 1 high near 1.3800 will act as a key barrier.
Economic Indicator
S&P Global Composite PMI
The S&P Global Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), released on a monthly basis, is a leading indicator gauging US private-business activity in the manufacturing and services sector. The data is derived from surveys to senior executives. Each response is weighted according to the size of the company and its contribution to total manufacturing or services output accounted for by the sub-sector to which that company belongs. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month and can anticipate changing trends in official data series such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), industrial production, employment and inflation. The index varies between 0 and 100, with levels of 50.0 signaling no change over the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates that the private economy is generally expanding, a bullish sign for the US Dollar (USD). Meanwhile, a reading below 50 signals that activity is generally declining, which is seen as bearish for USD.
Next release:
Tue Sep 23, 2025 13:45 (Prel)
Frequency:
Monthly
Consensus:
54.6
Previous:
54.6
Source:
S&P Global
