UK Preliminary Services PMI unexpectedly jumps to 54.9 in April

• UK Manufacturing PMI contracts to 46.6 in April, a negative surprise.
• Services PMI in the UK comes in at 54.9 in April, a positive surprise.
• GBP/USD defends 1.2400 on divided UK business PMIs.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 46.6 in April versus 48.5 expected and, March’s 47.9 final readout.

Meanwhile, the Preliminary UK Services Business Activity Index for April jumped to 54.9 as against March’s 52.9 final print and 52.9 expected.

FX implications

GBP/USD failed to budge on the mixed UK Manufacturing and Services PMI. The currency pair is losing 0.30% on the day to trade at 1.2402, as of writing.