GBP/JPY plunges to near 201.40 after weak UK employment data

GBP/JPY plummets to near 201.40 as UK job conditions cool down.
The UK Average Earnings grew at the slowest pace of 4.7% on year since May 2022.
Investors await speech from BoE’s Bailey at 17:00 GMT.

Sagar Dua FXStreet

The GBP/JPY pair trades 0.8% to near 201.40 during the European trading session on Tuesday. The pair faces an intense sell-off as the Pound Sterling (GBP) underperforms its peers, except antipodeans, after the United Kingdom (UK) labor market data for three months ending August signaled signs of cooling job conditions.

Pound Sterling Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.14%	0.59%	-0.21%	0.18%	0.92%	0.64%	0.05%
EUR	-0.14%		0.46%	-0.35%	0.04%	0.83%	0.50%	-0.08%
GBP	-0.59%	-0.46%		-0.77%	-0.41%	0.35%	0.08%	-0.54%
JPY	0.21%	0.35%	0.77%		0.40%	1.11%	0.81%	0.22%
CAD	-0.18%	-0.04%	0.41%	-0.40%		0.77%	0.46%	-0.13%
AUD	-0.92%	-0.83%	-0.35%	-1.11%	-0.77%		-0.32%	-0.90%
NZD	-0.64%	-0.50%	-0.08%	-0.81%	-0.46%	0.32%		-0.58%
CHF	-0.05%	0.08%	0.54%	-0.22%	0.13%	0.90%	0.58%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the Unemployment Rate accelerated to 4.8%, while economists expect the jobless rate to have remained steady at 4.7%.

Average Earnings Including Bonuses, a key measure of wage growth, grew at a slower pace of 4.7%, as expected, against 4.8% in three months ending July. This is the slowest growth seen since May 2022.

Signs of cooling job demand and easing wage growth are expected to boost market expectations of more interest rate cuts by the Bank of England (BoE) in the remaining year. For more cues on the monetary policy outlook, investors await the speech from BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, which is scheduled at 17:00 GMT.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Yen (JPY) outperforms its peers on hopes of a likely Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) intervention in the FX domain to support the domestic currency. “Recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves, and it is important for currencies to move in a stable manner,” Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said earlier in the day.

Economic Indicator

Average Earnings Excluding Bonus (3Mo/Yr)

The Average Earnings Excluding Bonus release is a key short-term indicator of how levels of pay are changing within the UK economy; it is released by the UK Office of National Statistics. It can be seen as a measure of growth in "basic pay". Generally, a positive result is seen as bullish for the Pound Sterling (GBP), whereas a low reading is seen as bearish.

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