The British pound weakened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Wednesday, after data showed that U.K. wage growth slowed more than expected in the three months to September.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that earnings including bonuses increased by 3 percent and that excluding bonuses grew 2.5 percent in three months to September. Economists had forecast a 3.2 percent increase for total pay.
The number of people claiming unemployment related benefits increased by 3,300 from September, which was more than the expected rise of 2,700.
At the same time, the ILO jobless rate dropped to 5.3 percent in the September quarter from 5.6 percent in the prior quarter. It has not been lower since March to May 2008. The expected rate was 5.4 percent.
There were 1.75 million unemployed people in the third quarter, down by 103,000 from June quarter.
As expected, the claimant count remained at 2.3 percent in October. It has been at 2.3 percent since March.
In the Asian session today, the pound rose against its major rivals.
In the early European trading, the pound fell to 1.5196 against the Swiss franc and 186.28 against the yen, from early 6-day highs of 1.5249 and 186.73, respectively. If the pound extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.50 against the franc and 183.00 against the yen.
Pulling away from an early 5-day high of 1.5186 against the U.S. dollar, the pound dropped to 1.5134. The pound is likely to find support around the 1.50 area.
The pound edegd down to 0.7104 against the euro, from an early high of 0.7077. On the downside, 0.72 is seen as the next support level for the pound.
Looking ahead, the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and the Bank of England governor Mark Carney are set to speak at Bank of England Open Forum “Building real markets for the good of the people” in London, United Kingdom at 8:15 am ET.
The U.S. and Canadian banks will be closed in observance of Veterans Day and Remembrance Day holidays, respectively.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com