Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the U.K. expanded at the fastest rate in eight months in March, easing concerns over the country’s economic outlook, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, market research group Markit said that its U.K. manufacturing PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted 54.4 last month from a reading of 54.1 in February. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 54.3 in March.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Commenting on the report, Rob Dobson, senior economist at survey compiler Markit, said, “The sector is on course for output growth ranging around 0.6% over the opening quarter as a whole, a positive contribution to broader economic expansion and its best performance since the first half of last year."
GBP/USD was trading at 1.4835 from around 1.4826 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7239 from 0.7242 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to gains. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.5%, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.4%, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.55%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.35%.