Investing.com - The pound pulled back from session lows against the dollar on Wednesday after the latest U.K. jobs report showed that average earnings rose, as investors awaited the Bank of England’s inflation report later in the day.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5929, up from around 1.5906 ahead of the data.
The Office of National Statistics reported that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by 20,400 in October, below expectations for a decline of 24,900.
The U.K. unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.0% in the three months to September, compared to forecast for a downtick to 5.9%.
The report also showed that total average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 1.3% in the three months to September, after a 0.9% increase in the three months to August.
Total earnings, including bonuses, rose 1.0%, up from a 0.7% increase in the three months to August.
The ONS said it was the first time since the 2008 financial crisis that average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, outstripped inflation.
The annual rate of U.K. inflation fell to a five-year low of 1.2% in September.
Investors were looking ahead to the BoE’s quarterly inflation report later in the day for further indications on the future possible direction of monetary policy.
Surveys of the U.K. service and manufacturing sectors last week added to worries that the rate of the economic recovery is slowing, prompting investors to push back expectations for a rate hike.
Elsewhere, sterling gained ground against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.34% to 0.7807 from around 0.7834 ahead of the jobs report.