The British Pound considerably decreased against the US Dollar after the UK job market report was released. The GBP/USD dropped 32 base points, or 0.23%, to the 1.3943 mark, to recover back to the 1.3970 area.
The Office for National Statistics said that the number of people in work and the number of those unemployed both surged. Apart from that, data released by the ONS revealed that British workforce total weekly earnings, both including and excluding bonuses, reached the forecast, marking a 2.5% yearly growth pace in the three-month period to December. However, Matt Hughes, a Senior Statistician at the ONS, pointed out that prices grew faster than earnings, with consumer price inflation remaining at the 3.0% growth rate.
Historical Data Table: Average Earnings Index 3m/y | Economic Calendar for 21.02.2018 | ||||||||
Date | 18.10.2017 | 15.11.2017 | 13.12.2017 | 24.01.2018 | 21.02.2018 | 12:30 AM | AU Wage Price Index q/q | ||
Actual | 2.20% | 2.20% | 2.50% | 2.50% | 2.50% | 3:00 PM | US Existing Home Sales | ||
Forecast | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.50% | 2.50% | 2.50% | 7:00 PM | US FOMC Meeting Minutes | ||
Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
GBP/USD | 1.3975 | 1.3944 | -0.22% | GBP/USD | 50.01% | 49.99% | |||
EUR/GBP | 0.88224 | 0.88365 | 0.16% | EUR/GBP | 28.31% | 71.69% | |||
GBP/CAD | 1.76832 | 1.76511 | -0.18% | GBP/CAD | 46.78% | 53.22% | |||
GBP/JPY | 150.331 | 149.957 | -0.25% | GBP/JPY | 53.44% | 46.56% |