UK Claimant Count Change Shows Smaller Decline Than Expected

Key Takeaways

• Unemployment Remains Steady at 3.7% in January
• Claimant Count Change Shows Smaller Decline Than Expected
• Wages Ease to 6.5% YoY in January

The Office for National Statistics released the latest employment data for the UK on Tuesday.

The ILO Unemployment Rate in the UK remained steady at 3.7% in January, which was lower than the expected 3.8%.

Meanwhile, the UK Claimant Count Change for February showed a smaller decline than expected, coming in at -11.2K compared to the market consensus of -12.4K.

Additionally, the UK wages excluding bonuses eased to 6.5% YoY in January, which was lower than the expected 6.6%.

GBP/USD Reaction

The GBP/USD showed little reaction to the changes in the latest employment report, suggesting investors had already shifted their focus to today’s U.S. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) report, while still dealing with the fallout of the SVB failure in the United States.

Technically, the GBP/USD is in a position to post a higher close for a fifth consecutive session. Helping to support the rally is the notion that the Federal Reserve will pause its rate hiking campaign due to the instability in the U.S. banking system.