The British pound traded at $1.3350 against the dollar after Tuesday's U.K. jobs report, a 0.4% gain in Reuters' 4:30 a.m. EDT dispatch ahead of coming central bank decisions.
Earlier in Asian trading, Reuters recorded the pound at $1.3308, a 0.1% rise. The dollar index was 0.2% lower at 101.75 in the later report.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated unemployment at 4.7% for June through August, 0.1 percentage point lower than in the previous quarter. Its employment rate estimate for the same period rose 0.2 percentage point from the previous quarter to 75.3%.
Estimated job vacancies totaled 691,000 from July through September, down 21,000 from April through June. Annual growth in regular pay was 3.7% for June through August. The ONS described the labor market as largely unchanged this year and urged caution when interpreting short-term changes in its survey estimates.
The figures arrive before the Bank of England's Nov. 5 interest rate decision. The bank held its benchmark rate at 3.75% in September, with three of nine policymakers favoring a 0.25-percentage-point increase. It put August consumer inflation at 3.1% and identified higher energy prices as a risk to future inflation.
Reuters reported Oct. 14 that markets were pricing a Bank of England rate increase in November and three more by September 2027. Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill questioned whether four increases were warranted. That rate path reflects market expectations, not a decision by the bank.
The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75%-4% in September. FXStreet reported that traders expected the Fed to leave rates unchanged at its Oct. 27-28 meeting. FXStreet cited expectations for the two banks in its account of sterling's earlier Asian-session gain; the later Reuters reading followed the jobs release amid broader dollar weakness.
The U.K. Budget is scheduled for Oct. 28, ahead of the Bank of England's Nov. 5 decision.
