Investors in today’s European session were shown with the publication of manufacturing and services PMI data from the European and UK Zones showing mixed readings in November.
Both the services and manufacturing sectors in France missed market expectations, recording a contraction in November. This is the fastest contraction ever recorded since May as new restrictions were imposed on business and manufacturing activities.
Meanwhile in Germany, the manufacturing sector is still expanding despite a slight decline from previously recorded readings and business activity continued to show contraction in November.
Ultimately, overall manufacturing activity in Europe still showed better-than-expected market expansion, but the services sector unfortunately continued to weaken during the month.
According to IHS Markit, the readings shown in the overall data are positive, where the latest contraction is much slower than during the previous close, i.e. in March. These results indicate that some French businesses have been able to adapt their operations to new situations.
The euro, which initially showed a slight decline following the release of the data, traded up again supported by positive reports on the Covid-19 vaccine.
In addition, the release of PMI data from the UK also adorned the market by seeing the manufacturing and services sectors record a better-than-expected reading despite business activity contracting this month.
The pound sterling trade slightly changed with continued trading above the 1.3300 price level against the USD, supported by market optimism over vaccine and Brexit developments.
