Sterling steady after UK jobs and wage data paints unclear picture

hl.co.uk:

We don’t support this browser anymore.
This means our website may not look and work as you would expect. Read more about browsers and how to update them here.

Newsroom

Newsroom articles are published by leading news agencies. Hargreaves Lansdown is not responsible for an article's content and its accuracy. We may not share the views of the author.

HL Podcast

HL Insight

The pound held steady on Tuesday after data showed British wage growth stayed strong in July even as the labour market weakened, painting an unclear picture ahead of the Bank of England's decision next week.

Article originally published by Reuters. Hargreaves Lansdown is not responsible for its content or accuracy and may not share the author's views. News and research are not personal recommendations to deal. All investments can fall in value so you could get back less than you invest.

Published by

12 Sep 2023

Sterling rose after the data was released but pared its gains and was last flat at $1.2507, after climbing 0.35% on Monday.

British wages excluding bonuses were 7.8% higher than a year earlier in the three months to July, in line with economists' expectations and matching the record pace set in June, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday. Wages including bonuses rose 8.5%, up from 8.4% the previous month.

The strong wage growth came even as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, from 4.2% in June.

«The tightness of the labour market continued to ease in July,» said Ashley Webb, UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics.

«But the further rise in wage growth will only add to the Bank of England’s unease and supports our view that the Bank will raise interest rates once more, from 5.25% currently to a peak of