For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the GBP declined 0.61% against the USD and closed at 1.3215, after the latest labour market report painted a bleak picture of Britain’s wage growth.
Data showed that UK’s average earnings including bonus recorded a rise of 2.1% on an annual basis in the three months to July, falling short of market consensus for an advance of 2.3%, thus suggesting that consumers might further retrench as earnings have failed to keep pace with rising inflation. The average earnings including bonus had registered a rise of 2.1% in the April-June period.
However, the nation’s ILO unemployment rate unexpectedly eased to 4.3% in the May-July 2017 period, dropping to its lowest level in forty-two years, while markets were expecting the ILO unemployment rate to remain steady at 4.4%. Further, the number of people employed in the nation advanced more-than-anticipated by 181.0K in the three months through July, rising by the most since the end of 2015. Market participants had envisaged for an increase of 154.0K, after registering a gain of 125.0K in the April-June period.
In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 1.3203, with the GBP trading 0.09% lower against the USD from yesterday’s close.
Overnight data revealed that the nation’s RICS house price balance surprisingly climbed to 6.0 in August, compared to market expectations for a flat reading. House price balance had recorded a level of 1.0 in the previous month.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.3149, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.3095. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.3293, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.3383.
Trading trend in the Pound today is expected to be determined by the Bank of England’s interest rate decision, due later today. The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
