The Pound has strengthened against all of its most traded peers including the Euro and US Dollar after data showed that the unemployment rate in the UK fell to 7.6% moving closer to the Bank of England’s target of 7%.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the jobless rate fell to 7.6% in the third quarter of the year bringing the overall unemployment rate to its lowest level since 2009. Adding to the positive news was that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the country fell by 41,700 in October, beating economist forecasts for a fall of 40,200.
As a result of the data the Bank of England said that it had brought forward the date in which it expects the unemployment rate to reach the target of 7%. It said that upon reaching that target it will consider raising interest rates and would begin to withdraw stimulus measures.
The Central Bank now believes that the 7% target will be reached by the third quarter of 2015 if the economy continues to improve, a lot sooner than its previous expectation of the target being achieved in 2016.
The data shows how well the UK is doing in comparison with the Eurozone which currently has an unemployment rate of 12.2%.
The single currency received a knock after data showed that on a month by month basis industrial production across the 17 nation region fell by -0.5%, below economist forecasts. The data does little to ease concerns over a slowdown in the region’s economic recovery and has increased speculation that the European Central Bank could take further action to help bolster the flagging economy.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 11:00 am GMT
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3413
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8393
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4435
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6321
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4074
The Euro/ Japanese Yen Rate Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 133.5342
The Euro/Swiss Franc Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2317
The Pound Sterling/ Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1908
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7453
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6925
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6127
The Canadian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7104
Swiss Franc/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8117
