The pound weakened against its major counterparts in early European deals on Friday, as European shares dropped after weak manufacturing data from China and delayal of the Senate vote on tax reform bill overnight.

The manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in November, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed today with a PMI score of 50.8. That's down from 51.0 in October.

U.S. Senate Republicans delayed voting on their tax bill Thursday, as some sceptics raised concerns about the swelling budget deficit as a result of the measure. In economic front, data from IHS Markit showed that the UK manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than four years in November.

The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 58.2 in November from revised 56.6 in October. This was the highest score since August 2013.

The currency showed mixed trading in the Asian session. While it rose against the greenback and the franc, it held steady against the yen. Against the euro, it dropped. Having advanced to more than a 2-month high of 1.3550 against the greenback at 7:45 pm ET, the pound reversed direction and weakened to 1.3475. If the pound extends decline, 1.33 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The pound dropped to 151.43 against the yen and 1.3242 against the franc, off its early 2-1/2-month high of 152.48 and more than a 4-week high of 1.3323, respectively. Continuation of the pound's downtrend may see it challenging support around 150.00 against the yen and 1.31 against the franc.

The pound slipped to a 2-day low of 0.8841 against the euro, from a high of 0.8789 hit at 7:45 pm ET. The pound is seen finding support around the 0.90 mark.

Survey data from IHS Markit showed that Eurozone manufacturing activity expanded notably in November underpinned by production and new orders.

The final factory Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 60.1 in November, its best reading apart from April 2000's series-record high. The score improved from 58.5 in October.

Looking ahead, Canada GDP data for September and jobs data for November as well as U.S. ISM manufacturing index for November and construction spending for October are due in the New York session.

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