The Pound has strengthened against its most traded peers after the latest UK jobs data revealed that the number of Britons claiming unemployment benefits declined much more than expected in April.
Despite the surprise decline the overall number of people unemployment rose as employment fell by 43,000. Wages growth also disappointed as average weekly earnings growth including bonuses more than halved to 0.4% in the first quarter of 2013. Excluding bonuses, pay grew by a record-low 0.8 percent.
According to the Office for National Statistics the number of people claiming jobseekers benefits dropped by 7,300 last month beating economist expectations of a decline of just 3,000. The jobless rate fell to 4.5%, its lowest level since April 2011.
The overall jobless rate was also cut from 7.9% to 7.8%, beating economist expectations for the overall jobless rate to remain at 7.9%. Despite the positive benefits news, Joblessness as measured by International Labour Organisation methods rose 15,000 in the three months through March to 2.52 million.
The Pound could strengthen further later in the session as analysts await the Bank of England’s quarterly report of economic analysis and inflation projections. Analysts expect that BoE Governor Sir Mervyn King will reveal that the UK economy is getting back on track, by edging towards its inflation target.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5234
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1802
The Pound Sterling/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5424
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.8591
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6564
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8473
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6483
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5378
(As of 10:20am GMT)
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