GBP

Britain’s
manufacturing recovery showed positive results with growth in the sector well
ahead of expectations in April, pushing the pound to a near five-year high
against the dollar.

A
strong rise in output, new orders and employment demonstrated positivity in the
sector, which accounts for about 10% of the UK economy. Also according to a PMI
survey, results show that roughly 10,000 jobs are being created in the sector
on a monthly basis.

GBP

Britain’s
manufacturing recovery showed positive results with growth in the sector well
ahead of expectations in April, pushing the pound to a near five-year high
against the dollar.

A
strong rise in output, new orders and employment demonstrated positivity in the
sector, which accounts for about 10% of the UK economy. Also according to a PMI
survey, results show that roughly 10,000 jobs are being created in the sector
on a monthly basis.

Apart
from manufacturing figures, separate data showed U.K. annual house-price growth
accelerated last month to the most since before the financial crisis.

U.K.
house prices increased 1.2% from March. Home values jumped 10.9% from a year
earlier, the biggest annual gain since June 2007.

The
main concern is the momentum the housing market has got at the moment with many
suggesting it could over heat and lead to a bubble, correspondingly mortgage
approvals unexpectedly fell in March. Lenders granted 67,135 loans for house
purchase, compared with downwardly revised 69,592 in February.

USD

Unemployment
figures are expected to be released today with a consensus they could fall from
6.7% to 6.6%.

The
Dollar is down against most of its major peers this week with the Federal
Reserve reinforcing its commitment to record-low borrowing costs.

We
also have non-farm payroll figures out today. The U.S. Labour Department may
say payrolls increased to 210,000 in April, up from a gain of 192,000 the
previous month, according to a survey from Bloomberg economists.

Today

Data
from the Eurozone this morning has been relatively positive with manufacturing
activity increasing more than expected in the Eurozone as a collective, in
France and Italy. Data from Germany was disappointing though, with the
manufacturing output just missing expectations.

UK
construction activity for the month of April was disappointing with output
slowing to 60.8, the pound as a result has weakened very slightly this morning.

Key Announcements:

13.30pm
– USD – Non-farm Payrolls (Apr): Expected to increase to 210,000.

13.30pm
– USD – Unemployment Rate (Apr): Expected to fall to 6.6%.

15.00pm
– USD – Factory Orders (Mar): Expected to fall to 1.5%.