Sterling Mixed as Fed Impact Battles Positive UK Data

The Great Britain pound fell against the US dollar today as the greenback retained strength after yesterday’s monetary policy decision of the Federal Reserve. The sterling struggled versus the yen but managed to gain on the euro as economic data confirmed recovery in the United Kingdom yet again.
Confederation of British Industry released its Industrial Order Expectations index today that showed an increase from 3 in February to 6 in March. It was a somewhat higher figure than the expected reading of 5. Anna Leach, CBI Head of Economic Analysis, said:

The picture in the manufacturing sector remains positive. Overall, demand continues to rise and output growth is robust.

She added:

Measures announced in the budget should help businesses to break into new, faster growing markets and underpin an improvement in the UK’s export performance.

Today’s data followed yesterday’s employment report that was also positive. Yet the Fed policy decision is still influencing the Forex market, muting the positive impact of UK economic indicators on the sterling.
GBP/USD was down from 1.6538 to 1.6512 as of 16:48 GMT today. GBP/JPY was flat at 169.11. EUR/GBP declined from 0.8361 to 0.8346, and its daily minimum was at 0.8327.

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