The British Pound is losing ground against the US Dollar for the second day in a row as pressure mounts on fresh UK employment data.
Data for February showed a rise in Claimant Count by 16.8K - the biggest since April last year. Overall, a moderate growth trend has now been in charge for a year, after almost a year of stagnation.
The pace of wage growth has continued to slow. Earnings growth, including bonuses, slowed to 5.6% in the three months to January from 5.8% previously. This is the lowest rate in a year and a half and below the forecast of 5.7% but well above the historical average of 3.3%.
At 3.9%, unemployment remains close to lows not seen since the mid-1970s.
On balance, the labour market indicators allow the Bank of England to ease monetary policy at a much earlier date while not fuelling speculation of an imminent or imminent economic contraction. Despite high interest rates, full employment is supporting domestic final demand, which accounts for over 80% of the UK GDP.
![[Morning Market] Inflation falls more than expected, increasing the likelihood of rate cuts.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fproduction-app-asset.traderknows.com%2Foriginal_images%2F0ffa02859e8d4c1ca77b93719390a683.png%3FExpires%3D1728278335%26Signature%3DZerJKTXcw1HpPLJQdT~5VPK0wl0ccdBh9G235k3VaiW4c4aYXV1Ghs7SNq3bN9U5zlcRaxwcBkFQpZtWI4BhxH2W6oyXeF8MqE4-0jya-xwvo0QBSqKF2sN4Km~0oFNJeNs8dQqgX8LSa4nFHN9JHx86AiQNbxB8pJoQL4R5TlUtzoLZykvmbJsYQeqBFLO3u5NbyfiUcAPWiWSKmkBV3R-IZdTZqz8u4UcNzYDpZf9Q0UhoMRVnKGH-HZ6XTmOOu2ICxSkq-RvB21aGMjORM3Yea1eK6DN341UF-lQ0LD7bQOxHYYIWh6qPdijBY7IcKRel9xiylhuQStYAKfPo2g__%26Key-Pair-Id%3DK3LHBTUA5A7KEY&w=640&q=75 "[Morning Market] Inflation falls more than expected, increasing the likelihood of rate cuts.")
