Pound slumps after flash U.K. PMI falls to 31-month low

The pound
GBPUSD,
-0.56%
fell below $1.27 on Wednesday after worse-than-expected PMI data. The S&P Global/CIPS flash U.K. composite PMI fell to a 31-month low of 47.9 in August from 50.8 in July. The released blamed a faster fall in new orders for ending the six month run in positive territory over 50. The pound fell to $1.2687 from $1.2732. Earlier, eurozone PMIs fell to a 33-month low.