| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 06:00 | United Kingdom | PSNB, bln | March | -8.6 | -8.9 | -11.02 |
| 07:30 | Germany | Manufacturing PMI | April | 41.9 | 42.9 | 42.2 |
| 07:30 | Germany | Services PMI | April | 50.1 | 50.5 | 53.3 |
| 08:00 | Eurozone | Manufacturing PMI | April | 46.1 | 46.5 | 45.6 |
| 08:00 | Eurozone | Services PMI | April | 51.5 | 51.8 | 52.9 |
| 08:30 | United Kingdom | Purchasing Manager Index Manufacturing | April | 50.3 | 50.2 | 48.7 |
| 08:30 | United Kingdom | Purchasing Manager Index Services | April | 53.1 | 53 | 54.9 |
GBP traded flat and mixed against other major currencies in the European session on Tuesday as investors weighed the UK’s preliminary PMI readings for April, which revealed a mixed picture, with the manufacturing component disappointing and the services component exceeding expectations.
The S&P Global reported earlier this morning its preliminary estimates showed the UK’s manufacturing PMI declined to 48.7 in April from 50.3 in the previous month, pointing to a resumption of contraction in the British factory activity after one-month growth. Economists had predicted the indicator to remain unchanged at 50.3. Meanwhile, the UK services PMI increased to 54.9 this month from 53.1 in March, indicating the sixth straight month of expansion in the country's services sector, the pace of which was also the strongest since last May. Economists had forecast the measure to slip to 53.0 in April.
As a result the UK’s composite PMI, combining both manufacturing and services PMIs, rose to 54.0 from 52.8 in March, marking the strongest expansion in Britain’s business activity in 11 months.
The uptick in the composite gauge, undermined by the services sector’s expansion, was interpreted by markets as a potential reason for concerns of the Bank of England’s policymakers, warning about implications of a stronger economy and quick wage growth on the inflation trend.
However, the latest release did not prompt a noticeable rethinking of the BoE’s rate cut expectations. According to Bloomberg, markets still see two 25-basis-point reductions by the end of 2024, with a small probability of the third move.