Sterling rises after upbeat UK construction PMI survey

LONDON, Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 2 (Reuters) - Sterling hit intraday highs against the dollar and the euro on Friday, after a survey showed growth in Britain's construction sector picked up pace in September, boding well for the economy.

The CIPS/Markit (NasdaqGS: MRKT - news) construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 59.9 in September, its strongest level since February, up from 57.3 in August. That was well above the median forecast of 57.5 in a Reuters poll.

Sterling rose to $1.5174, up 0.3 percent on the day, having traded at $1.5148 before the survey was released. It had fallen to $1.5107 on Thursday, equalling its lowest level in five months, which it had also hit late on Wednesday.

The euro fell to 73.625 pence, down 0.5 percent on the day.

Sterling was helped by data released on Thursday that showed a slightly better-than-expected performance by Britain's manufacturing sector last month, which contrasted with a more subdued reading from the United States. (Reporting by Anirban Nag; editing by Jemima Kelly)