The Sterling continued an upmove in the Wednesday morning, though previous gains were partially offset after the disappointing report on the UK average earnings. After the drop of 0.13% against the Greenback to the 1.327 mark, the British Pound resumed depreciation to continue trading under the level of 1.324..
The Office for National Statistics reported that both its Average Earnings Indexes including and excluding bonuses showed the same as previously annual increase of 2.1% in the three months period ended in July. On the positive side, data revealed that unemployment rate in the UK edged lower to 4.3% in the reported term , while analysts' expected an unchanged reading of 4.4%. The release muted expectations for the BoE to change its interest rate policy due to a higher inflation.
| Historical Data Table: UK Average Earnings Index 3m/y | |||||
| Date | 17.05.2017 | 14.06.2017 | 12.07.2017 | 16.08.2017 | 13.09.2017 |
| Actual | 2.4% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| Forecast | 2.4% | 2.4% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2.3% |
| Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | |||||
| Open Price | Close Price | % Change | |||
| GBP/USD | 1.32989 | 1.32814 | -0.13% | ||
| EUR/GBP | 0.90171 | 0.90269 | 0.11% | ||
| GBP/CAD | 1.61566 | 1.61226 | -0.21% | ||
| GBP/JPY | 146.227 | 146.01 | -0.15% | ||