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GBP/INR is slightly bullish on Wednesday, after losing 0.63% in the previous trading session. Currently, one British pound buys 94.157 Indian rupees, up 0.06% as of 5:45 AM UTC. The pair has been trading near 94.000 since the start of the week. Last week, it failed to break above a strong resistance near 95.000 on several occasions.

Just recently, IHS Markit published Nikkei’s survey on India’s services activity, which surprised even the most earnest pessimists. This piece of data might force the rupee to lose ground against the sterling. However, the British currency itself has been under pressure after IHS Markit released the UK’s services industry performance, which also fell to record lows.

India’s Services Activity on Hold in April

India’s services sector experienced a shocking decline in activity last month as the COVID-related lockdown measures paralyzed the economy.

The services purchasing managers index (PMI) collapsed to 5.4 in April from 49.3 in March, which is by far the lowest level on record. Analysts expected a decline to 40.0. The 50 mark separates growth from contraction.

Joe Hayes, an economist at IHS Markit, commented on the performance:

The extreme slide in the headline index, which fell by over 40 points, shows us that the strict lockdown measures have led to the sector essentially grinding to a complete standstill.”

Obviously, all of the survey’s sub-indexes tumbled. The gauge of foreign demand for services literally plummeted to zero.

On Monday, a similar survey showed that India’s manufacturing PMI contracted at the fastest pace on record. Thus, the composite PMI, which merges both services and manufacturing sectors, dropped to 7.2 from 50.6 in March.

A recent poll by Reuters suggests that the Indian economy is about to experience its worst quarter since the 1990s in the three months through June, collapsing by over 5%. In April alone, the gross domestic product (GDP) might have plunged by 15%. Hayes said:

Historical comparisons with GDP data suggest that India’s economy contracted at an annual rate of 15% in April. It is clear that the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic has so far been deep and far-reaching in India.”

The UK’s services PMI tumbled to 13.4 in April from 34.5 in March, which is still slightly better than the preliminary estimate of 12.3.