Investing.com - The pound rose to a seven-month high against the dollar on Wednesday, as the release of upbeat U.K. employment data fuelled expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates sooner than it has indicated.
GBP/USD hit 1.5826 during European afternoon trade, the highest since February 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5776, gaining 0.28%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5717, the session low and resistance at 1.5860.
The pound rallied after the Office for National Statistics said the rate of unemployment in the U.K. ticked down to 7.7% in July from 7.8% in June. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
Last month, the BoE pledged to keep interest rates on hold at current record low levels until the unemployment rate falls below 7%, something that bank does not see for another three years.
The ONS said the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by 32,600 in August, better than expectations for a decline of 22,000 people.
The previous month’s figure was revised to a drop of 36,300 people from a previously reported decrease of 29,200.
The euro fell to its lowest level since February against sterling following the report, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.28% to trade at 0.8411.
In the euro zone, the head of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said in a speech on Wednesday that a recovery is in sight and reiterated his call for the implementation of banking reforms, starting with the 'single supervisory mechanism'.
GBP/USD hit 1.5826 during European afternoon trade, the highest since February 8; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5776, gaining 0.28%.
Cable was likely to find support at 1.5717, the session low and resistance at 1.5860.
The pound rallied after the Office for National Statistics said the rate of unemployment in the U.K. ticked down to 7.7% in July from 7.8% in June. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
Last month, the BoE pledged to keep interest rates on hold at current record low levels until the unemployment rate falls below 7%, something that bank does not see for another three years.
The ONS said the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by 32,600 in August, better than expectations for a decline of 22,000 people.
The previous month’s figure was revised to a drop of 36,300 people from a previously reported decrease of 29,200.
The euro fell to its lowest level since February against sterling following the report, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.28% to trade at 0.8411.
In the euro zone, the head of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said in a speech on Wednesday that a recovery is in sight and reiterated his call for the implementation of banking reforms, starting with the 'single supervisory mechanism'.