UK gilts trade lower on higher-than-expected May manufacturing PMI; construction PMI in focus

The UK gilts traded lower Thursday after reading higher-than-expected manufacturing PMI for the month of May. Also, investors are looking forward to the country’s construction PMI, scheduled to be released on June 2 for further direction in the debt market.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, rose nearly 1 basis point to 1.06 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields traded flat at 1.69 percent and the yield on the short-term 3-year traded 1 basis point higher at 0.19 percent by 09:40 GMT.

At 56.7, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was only slightly below April’s three-year high of 57.3 and signalled an improvement in operating conditions for the tenth successive month.

Lastly, the UK gilts have been closely following developments in oil markets because of their impact on inflation expectations. The International benchmark Brent futures rose 0.67 percent to USD51.10 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped 1.22 percent to USD48.91 by 09:20 GMT.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 rose 0.26 percent or 19.55 points to 7,543.00 by 09:50 GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained neutral at -58.26 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex