|

UK Unemployment Rate steadies at 4.3% in quarter to October vs. 4.3% expected

  • The UK Unemployment Rate stayed unchanged at 4.3% in three months to October.
  • The Claimant Count Change for Britain arrived at 0.3K in November.
  • GBP/USD remains pressured toward 1.2650 after mixed UK employment data.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate stayed unchanged at 4.3% in the three months to October, the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday. The reading matched the market estimate of 4.3% in the reported period.

Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits climbed by only 0.3K in November, compared with a decrease of 10.9K in October, beating the expected 28.2K figure.

The Employment Change data for October came in at 173K versus September’s 253K.

Meanwhile, Average Earnings, excluding Bonus, in the UK grew by 5.2% 3M YoY in October versus a 4.9% raise in September. The market forecast was for a 5.0% increase.

Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings, including Bonus, advanced 5.2% in the same period after rising by 4.4% in the quarter through September. The data beat the estimated 4.6% growth.

GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report

GBP/USD picks up fresh bids on the release of the UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.09% higher on the day at 1.2690, as of writing.\

British Pound PRICE Today

The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.

 USDEURGBPJPYCADAUDNZDCHF
USD 0.06%-0.07%-0.03%0.08%0.28%0.23%0.16%
EUR-0.06% -0.13%-0.10%0.02%0.22%0.17%0.09%
GBP0.07%0.13% 0.06%0.15%0.34%0.30%0.23%
JPY0.03%0.10%-0.06% 0.10%0.30%0.24%0.19%
CAD-0.08%-0.02%-0.15%-0.10% 0.20%0.16%0.09%
AUD-0.28%-0.22%-0.34%-0.30%-0.20% -0.05%-0.13%
NZD-0.23%-0.17%-0.30%-0.24%-0.16%0.05% -0.07%
CHF-0.16%-0.09%-0.23%-0.19%-0.09%0.13%0.07% 

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).

Author

Dhwani Mehta

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

More from Dhwani Mehta
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD holds firm above 1.1900 as US NFP looms

EUR/USD holds its upbeat momentum above 1.1900 in the European trading hours on Wednesday, helped by a broadly weaker US Dollar. Markets could turn cautious later in the day as the delayed US employment report for January will takes center stage. 

GBP/USD recovers losses despite rising UK political risks, BoE rate cut bets

Pound Sterling advances against the US Dollar after registering modest losses in the previous session, trading around 1.3650 during the Asian hours on Wednesday. The pair could extend losses as the Pound Sterling faces pressure from rising political risks in the UK and growing expectations of near-term Bank of England rate cuts.

Gold sticks to gains near $5,050 as focus shifts to US NFP

Gold holds moderate gains near the $5,050 level in the European session on Wednesday, reversing a part of the previous day's modest losses amid dovish US Federal Reserve-inspired US Dollar weakness. This, in turn, is seen as a key factor acting as a tailwind for the non-yielding yellow metal ahead of the critical US NFP release. 

US Nonfarm Payrolls expected to show modest job gains in January

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the delayed Nonfarm Payrolls data for January on Wednesday at 13:30 GMT. Investors expect NFP to rise by 70K following the 50K increase recorded in December.

S&P 500 at 7,000 is a valuation test, not a liquidity problem

The rebound from last week’s drawdown never quite shook the sense that it was being supported by borrowed conviction. The S&P 500 once again tested near the 7,000 level (6,986 as the high watermark) and failed, despite a macro backdrop that would normally be interpreted as supportive of risk.

BNB prolonged correction signals deeper bearish momentum
BNB (BNB), formerly known as Binance Coin, is trading below $618 on Wednesday, marking the sixth consecutive day of correction since the weekend. The bearish price action is further supported by rising short bets alongside negative funding rates in the derivatives market.