During early European session on Wednesday, the pound recovered against other major currencies as a report indicated that U.K’s unemployment rate fell in May.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s allowance in the U.K. decreased 30,900 to reach 1.48 million in May, the Office for National Statistics said today. This was the first time the claimant count has been below 1.5 million since March 2009. Economists had expected only 20,000 fall for May.
During three months to April, the unemployment rate was 7.9%, up 0.1 percentage point on the quarter. The jobless rate stood below the expected 8%. The number of unemployed people increased by 23,000 over the quarter to reach 2.47 million.
The pound that hit a 12-day high of 135.99 against the yen at 2:45 am ET weakened thereafter. However, the pound gained momentum after 4:25 am ET. As of now, the pound is trading at 135.76 against the yen, compared to yesterday’s close of 135.35.
In economic news, from Japan, the average labor cash earnings in Japan increased for a second consecutive month in April, data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed today. Earnings rose 1.6% annually in April, revised up from 1.5%. This followed a 1% rise seen in March.
Presently, the pound is trading at 1.6750 against the Swiss franc, from a 2-day low of 1.6691 hit at 3:15 am ET.
Against the U.S. dollar, the pound showed choppy trading during most part of Asian session, but weakened during later part of the session and hit a low of 1.4753 at 4:25 am ET. But, the pound bounced back thereafter. The pound-dollar pair, which closed yesterday’s trading at 1.4803, is now worth 1.4815.
The pound recovered from a 2-day low against the euro during early European session on Wednesday. Moving up from a low of 0.8340 hit at 3:35 am ET, the pound rose to 0.8298 versus the euro at 5:35 am ET. Currently, the pound is worth 0.8304 against the euro, compared to 0.8330 hit at yesterday’s close.
Annual consumer price inflation in the 16-nation euro bloc rose to 1.6% in May, data released by Eurostat showed today, confirming preliminary estimates. The inflation rate had stood at 1.5% in the previous month. The rise was in line with analyst expectations.
The euro may also be influenced by the Italian CPI data for May, which was also released today.
The U.S. PPI, housing starts, building permits, industrial production and capacity utilization-all for the month of May are expected to influence trading during the North American session.
