Sterling is starting to claw back losses from the morning session when the pound fell against most of its peers, hitting a three week low against the euro following disappointing figures from the UK’s manufacturing industry.
A Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Manufacturing PMI fell to 54.3 in August from 56.9 in July (a figure above 50 shows a growth in activity) its lowest level since November last year.
In other news, the US dollar extended its losses, pushing the euro up over 1% on the day, as positive data from Australia and China revived shaky equity markets and gave a boost to risk sentiment. The greenback also fell to its lowest level against the Swiss franc since December 2009.
