Pound Slides As U.K. Jobless Rate Rises
March 17 2020 - 3:42AM
RTTF2
The pound moved down against its major rivals in the European
session on Tuesday, as the UK unemployment rate increased at the
start of the year before coronavirus crisis took hold.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the
jobless rate gained 0.2 percentage points from the preceding
quarter to 3.9 percent. The rate was largely unchanged from a year
earlier. This was above the forecast of 3.8 percent.
During November to January, nearly 1.34 million people were
unemployed. This was 5,000 more than a year earlier but 515,000
fewer than five years earlier.
At the same time, the employment rate rose 0.3 percentage points
from the previous quarter to a joint record high of 76.5
percent.
Average weekly earnings including bonus and excluding bonus grew
3.1 percent each on a yearly basis.
In February, the claimant count rose marginally to a seasonally
adjusted 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent in January. The number of
people claiming unemployment benefits increased 17,300 from the
previous month.
The pound fell the most since September 2019 against the
greenback, at 1.2146. If the pound falls further, it is likely to
test support around the 1.20 region.
The pound edged down to 129.43 against the yen, from a high of
131.22 seen at 9:30 pm ET. The next possible support for the pound
is seen around the 127.00 level.
Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed
that Japan industrial production rose in January.
Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent
month-on-month in January. Economists had expected a growth of 0.8
percent.
The pound pulled back to 1.1575 against the franc, from a high
of 1.1650 hit at 4:45 am ET. The pound may find downside target
around the 1.14 mark.
The pound eased off to 0.9131 against the euro, reversing from a
high of 0.9087 it logged at 4:45 am ET. The pound is poised to
challenge support around the 0.93 mark.
Looking ahead, U.S. business inventories data for January,
retail sales and industrial production for February and NAHB
housing market index for March are scheduled for release in the New
York session.
Sterling vs Yen (FX:GBPJPY)
Forex Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Sterling vs Yen (FX:GBPJPY)
Forex Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024