Britain’s Hiring – Pound Unexcited

British employment figures supplied a big surprise by turning around! Less people asked for unemployment benefits, after 18 months of rises. This hardly moved the Pound. Not really. Everybody is waiting for Ben Bernanke. These numbers could help the Pound later.

British Claimant Count Change fell for the first time this year: The number of people claiming for unemployment benefits fell.. This is  far better than the expectations for a 13,900 rise.

It’s important to note also the revision to last month’s positive figures. The initial report talked about a rise of 12,900, and now it was revised to a rise of only 5,900.

Claimant Count Change relates to November that ended recently. This early release makes it important.

The other figure is a late one, relating to October, but still very important: the unemployment rate. It rose from 7.8% to 7.9%, a little better than the early expectations that spoke of a rise to 8%.

GBP/USD initially rose from 1.6250 to 1.63, but lost most of these gains quite quickly. Also last month, the gains that followed good employment numbers in Britain didn’t hold their ground.

The markets are waiting for the Fed decision this evening. This is a crucial rate decision this time, as there is no consensus on the outcome. No result can fall within expectations. Here’s my preview for the FOMC Meeting.

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