U.K. Jobless Claims Falls......

[forexsoup]

U.K. Jobless Claims Falls to the Lowest Level in 21 Months

GBPUSD: Jobless claims in the U.K. fell 4.1K in December after tumbling 3.2K the month prior amid economists’ expectations of 0.0K. At the same time, the claimant count and ILO unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.5 and 7.9 percent respectively. Indeed, today’s decline in jobless claims marks the lowest level in 21 months; however private sector job creation is expected to come under pressure in the upcoming months. The government will implement its toughest spending cuts since World War II, which will weigh on growth. In turn, an uptick in the unemployment rate should not be ruled out in the near term. Meanwhile, the breakdown of the report showed that the annual growth rate for total pay remained unchanged at 2.1 percent during the month of November, while wages excluding bonuses stayed at 2.3 percent in November. Taking a look at price action, the British pound is lower against all major currencies expect the loonie and the greenback. Of particular importance, the GBPJPY has broken below its rising channel that has remained intact for approximately 2 weeks. If price action can hold below 132, further losses should not be rule out as technical indicators begin to paint a bearish picture.