Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the U.K. unexpectedly decreased in March, dampening confidence over the British economy, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, market research group Markit said that its U.K. manufacturing PMI fell to a seasonally adjusted 54.2 last month from a reading of 54.6 in March.
Analysts had expected the PMI to increase to 55.1.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Despite the miss due to the slowdown in output and new order growth, Markit indicated that the PMI remained above long-term trends.
However, the research group also noted price pressures remained elevated.
“The survey data suggest that the goods-producing sector made a solid contribution to GDP during the opening quarter of 2017,” Rob Dobson, senior economist at survey compiler Markit, said.
“However, it’s clear that the expansion will be less than the buoyant 1.3% rise seen in the fourth quarter of last year,” he added.
Immediately after the report, GBP/USD was trading at 1.2511 from around 1.2532 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/GBP was at 0.8527 compared to 0.8512 prior to the report, and GBP/JPY traded at 139.32 compared to 139.63 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were trading with mixed signs. London’s FTSE 100 inched up 0.05%, the Euro Stoxx 50 edged forward 0.05%, France's CAC 40 lost 0.14%, though Germany's DAX gained 0.23%.