Pound Rises On Upbeat U.K. Employment Data

(RTTNews) - The British pound strengthened against other major currencies in the European session on Tuesday, following the release of the upbeat U.K. labor market data for the three months ending February.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the economy added 206K new workers, which is a lot more than the 144K that were added in the three months that ended in January.

The unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in the December to February period, unchanged from the preceding period and matched economists' expectations.

Annual growth in employees' earnings excluding bonuses was 5.9 percent in December to February. This was slightly slower than the expected growth of 6.0 percent.

Including bonus, total earnings climbed 5.6 percent from the previous year compared to the forecast of 5.7 percent.

The number of vacancies decreased 26,000 on the quarter to 781,000 in January to March. This was the 33rd consecutive quarterly decline, the ONS said.

The European stock markets traded higher after the U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering a modification to the 25 percent tariffs imposed on foreign auto and auto parts imports from Mexico, Canada and other countries.

The sterling held steady against its major rivals in the Asian trading today.

In the European trading today, the pound rose to nearly a 6-1/2-month high of 1.3239 against the U.S. dollar, from an early low of 1.3164. On the upside, 1.33 is seen as the next resistance level for the pound.

Against the euro and the yen, the pound advanced to 5-day highs of 0.8657 and 189.56 from early lows of 0.8607 and 188.56, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.82 against the euro and 190.00 against the yen.

The pound edged up to 1.0812 against the Swiss franc, from an early low of 1.0753. The pound may test resistance around the 1.11 region.

Looking ahead, Canada housing starts and CPI data for March, manufacturing sales data for February, U.S. export and import prices for March, U.S. NY Empire State manufacturing index for April and U.S. NOPA Crush report are set to be published in the New York session.