UK claimant count August 2017 -2.8k vs 0.6k exp

Details of the August 2017 UK labour market report 13 September 2017

Prior -4.2k
Claimant count rate 2.3% unch
July ILO unemployment rate 4.3% vs 4.4% exp 3m. Prior 4.4%
July Average weekly earnings 2.1% vs 2.3% exp 3m y/y. Prior 2.1%
July earnings ex-bonus 2.1% vs 2.2% exp 3m y/y. Prior 2..1%
July Employemnt change 181k vs 151k exp. Prior 125k

GBPUSD was already on its way south under 1.33 into the release, make of that what you will, and has dropped further on the weaker than expected wage numbers. The fact that they weren’t worse than last month is a saving grace. Overall, it’s still a strong looking report and keeps the labout market looking good. However, for right now and the BOE on Thursday, the wages numbers have taken some of the air out of the tyres that was put in by the strong CPI numbers.

1.3265/70 is the immediate support level to watch here. if that goes, we could see a quick run down to around 1.3230/40. If it holds we’ll need to see whether 1.33 now contains resistance.