Yahoo Finance Sterling Pares Back Gains after UK Jobs Report
Investing.com - The pound pared back gains against the dollar on Wednesday after the latest UK jobs report showed that pay growth picked up in the three months to October, but there was another drop in the number of people in employment.
GBP/USD was at 1.3346 by 05:22 AM ET (10:22 AM GMT), from around 1.3361 earlier.
The number of people employed fell by 56,000 during the three months to October, the most since mid-2015, the Office for National Statistics reported.
The unemployment rate remained steady at a 42-year low of 4.3%.
Average earnings, including bonuses, rose by 2.5% in the three months to October, up from 2.2% last month. Excluding bonuses, average earnings rose by just 2.3%.
Data on Tuesday showed that UK inflation spiked to 3.1% in November and the ONS said wages in real terms dropped by an annual 0.2%.
Sterling remained higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.2% to 0.8799 from around 0.8792 earlier.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, edged down 0.06% to 94.00.
The dollar edged lower overnight after Democrat Doug Jones beat Republican Roy Moore in a bitter U.S. Senate race in Alabama.
The election result narrowed the Republicans’ Senate majority further, which could make it more difficult for the Trump administration to push through its economic agenda.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting later Wednesday and with a rate hike already priced in investors were focusing more on policymakers views on the inflation outlook and indications on the pace rate hikes next year.
The central bank will announce its decision on rates at 19:00 GMT Wednesday followed by a statement. Chair Janet Yellen will hold a news conference at 19:30 GMT.
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