Data from the UK did indeed mirror the US yesterday as Construction PMI in the UK fell to 27.8 against an expectation of 34.2. Construction spending in the US on Monday fell by 3.3% compounding the negative vibe seeping from equity markets.

The FTSE was once again lower as investors, institutions and individuals alike, tried to make sense of kamikaze falls. One rumour is that a lot of traders are selling out of profitable positions so they are able to invest in rights issues and take on stakes in companies at decrease prices. The FTSE is lagging behind the DAX (+0% yesterday) and the CAC (+0.3%) so a bounce is still possible. US and Asian markets were also depressed overnight with GBP/USD bombing through the 1.40 level again.

US economic reports due for release later today include the February ADP private sector employment, which are seen posting a loss of 615k jobs, continuing the decline from the loss of 522k jobs in January and non-manufacturing ISM. Consensus estimates for the February non-manufacturing ISM call for a decline to 41.0 from 42.9, still well below the 50.0 equality level.

There was some good news from the UK overnight as Consumer Confidence rose to 43 from January’s low of 41. Those surveyed thought that future would be brighter but they are still worried about the present as job losses continue to weigh.

Further analysis is of course always available at our video blog http://uk.youtube.com/user/WorldFirstJC

Please feel free to contact me (jeremy.cook@worldfirst.com) if you have any questions or thoughts regarding these updates or if you are interested in a particular event in the calendar. If you would like to discuss your foreign exchange requirements, please contact our: Corporate Foreign Exchange Team on 020 7801 9050 or our Private Client Currency Exchange Team on 020 7801 9080. Disclaimer: The above comments are only our views and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. Any rates given are “interbank” i.e. for amounts of £5million and thus are not indicative of rates offered by World First for smaller amounts. E&OE. Definitions of jargon/market terms can be found in our Glossary of Foreign Exchange Terms.

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