Sterling reaches fresh highs, but weakens in spite of strong data.

Sterling started this week on the front foot, hitting strong levels of 1.6250 and 1.20 against the US dollar and the euro respectively, in the aftermath of the partial US government shutdown. This strength was also thanks to positive data from the country, as we saw the biggest increase in six years for UK house prices, alongside a better number of mortgage approvals. On Tuesday, we saw the first of three purchasing managers index (PMI) releases, showing expansion in the manufacturing sector. Whilst the figures fell short of market estimates, the figures still revealed solid growth. The same result came from the construction sector on Wednesday, giving further weight to the economic recovery, while yesterday completed the set with services data meeting expectations and rounding off what has been the strongest quarter for the services sector in 16 years. Today, there is no more data from the UK, and as such movements will largely be down to events elsewhere. Call your trader now for the latest price on sterling, as sterling winds down from another positive week.