- Ross Walker, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
The GBP/USD currency pair rebounded from a key support on Wednesday, on the back of stronger than excepted data from the U.K. labour market that reinforced a view the central bank will have to revise its monetary policy soon.
The ONS said the nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged in the three months through January, while the number of people claiming for jobless benefits fell more than expected. The key unemployment rate stood at 7.2% in the final quarter of 2013, meeting analysts' expectations. The indicator, inched up to this level in the three months to December, posting its first increase since February 2013. ONS also reported the number of Britons seeking for jobless benefits plunged 34,600 over the first month of 2014, outpacing market's prediction for a 25,000 drop and coming slightly higher than previous month's revised figure of 33,900. The claimant count rate moved lower to 3.5% from 3.6% a month earlier, hitting the lowest level since 2008. What is more important is that the number of people employed hit the highest since record began in 1971. Additionally, average cash earning outpaced forecasts as well. Despite jobless rate remained steady, it is a welcoming sign for the BoE, who aims at eliminating slack in the economy, and while unemployment rate is still above the threshold of 7%, the labour market is on the right track.
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