020 7898 0500Sterling was left treading water against a weak US dollar, but extended losses against the single currency as the UK employment data hit the wires. Following Tuesday’s uptick in inflation, all eyes were on the wage growth to see if it could follow suit.
Average earnings increased by 0.1% to 2.4% but this does not match the 0.4% increase in inflation to 2.7% from 2.3%.
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people fell by 53,000 to 1.54 million in the three months to March, and the UK unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6%, the lowest in 42 years. While this is positive news, there will be concerns over inflation as household budgets look certain to be squeezed further in the coming months.
Following Labour’s manifesto yesterday, the Liberal Democrats released their own. The Lib Dems have put a second EU referendum at the heart of it, saying they want to ‘give the final say to the British people.’
Today we have another tier-1 data release which will give us further insight into the impact of inflation on consumers. The retail sales figures are set for release and are expected to rise by 1% after the 1.8% drop in March.
