Investing.com - The jobless rate in the U.K. unexpectedly dropped in June while wage inflation registered a stronger-than-expected increase, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said that the rate of unemployment fell to 4.4% in June, from the prior 4.5%. Analysts had expected no change.
The claimant count decreased by a seasonally adjusted 4,200 in July, beating expectations for a gain of 3,700 people and following a rise of 3.500 a month earlier, whose figure was revised from a previously reported increase of 5,900.
Meanwhile, the average earnings index, including bonuses, rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.1% in the three months to June, beating forecasts for a 1.8% rise and compared to the previous month’s gain of 1.9% (revised from an initial 1.8%).
Excluding bonuses, wages rose by 2.1% in the three months to June, compared to expectations for a 2.0% gain which would have matched May’s reading.
Following the report, GBP/USD traded at 1.2894 from around 1.2853 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/GBP was at 0.9086 from 0.9112 earlier, while GBP/JPY exchanged hands at 143.06 compared to 142.62 previously.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.54%, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 traded up 0.88%, France's CAC 40 advanced 1.05%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.83%.