The UK reported a drop of 7.3K jobless claims. It was expected to report a drop of 3.1K in the Claimant Count Change figure (jobless claims) for the month of April. March saw a drop of 9.9K claims (revised down from 7K reported last time). The unemployment rate for March was predicted to remain unchanged at 7.9%, yet it also provided a pleasant surprise, falling to 7.8%.
GBP/USD managed to bounce from support at 1.52 prior to the release. It already fell below this line beforehand. The pair jumped above 1.5250 after the publication, but doesn’t run too far at the time of writing. Better than expected claims, a positive revision for the previous month and a lower unemployment are probably not enough to battle the mighty dollar.
Update: GBP/USD reversed its gains and is now steady around 1.5230.
The Average Earnings Index rose by 0.4%, lower than 0.7% that was expected. Last month’s figure was revised to the upside: 1% instead of 0.8% initially printed.
Employment in the UK has stabilized in recent months and hasn’t fallen too badly. However, other factors are weighing on the pound. Recently, the intense talk about the UK exiting the EU (“Brixit”) weighed on the pound.
Later in the UK ,the Bank of England releases its quarterly inflation report. The previous publication certainly resulted in fireworks. The report will be accompanied by a press conference from outgoing BOE governor Mervyn King.
For more, see the GBP USD forecast. Live chart:[do action=”tradingviews” pair=”GBPUSD” interval=”30″/]
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