British Claimant Count Change rose by only 17.5K in September, showing a slower growth in unemployment. GBP/USD enjoys this move to extend its gains that began prior to the event.
The unemployment rate for August disappointed by jumping to 8.1%, higher than an unchanged figure of 7.9% that was expected.
GBP/USD made a small jump from around 1.5670 to 1.5690, but finds fierce resistance at this level. A line to watch is 1.5706. The rise in the unemployment rate lags the rise in jobless claims. The slower rise in claims dominates.
While the number of jobless claims has been rising since March, last month’s rise of 20.3K according to the initial report came out better than expected.
Pound/dollar was trading in a see-saw fashion within a wide range: between 1.5530 to just under 1.57. During the Asian session, the pair fell to lower levels, but managed to climb very nicely before the publication of the job figures.
Rumors once again? This is too common with British figures. But it’s not only rumors this time. EUR/USD was also on the rise as there is a growing notion that the European leaders are getting their act together, following an optimistic statement from EU Commissioner Olli Rehn.
If 1.5706 is broken, the next resistance line appears at 1.5780. On a fallback, support appears at 1.5650, although strong support is only at 1.5530. For more on the pound, see the GBP/USD forecast.
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