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The UK 10-year gilt yields slumped, following slight weakness in the country’s labor market, disappointing what markets had initially anticipated. Also, investors remain keen to focus on the January retail sales, scheduled to be released on February 17.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, which moves inversely to its price, jumped 2-1/2 basis points to 1.28 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields also surged 2-1/2 basis points to 1.97 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year too edged higher by 2-1/2 basis points to 0.11 percent by 09:20 GMT.
U.K. unemployment declined and a measure of the number of people in work rose to a record, pushing the labor market closer to "full capacity", data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Wednesday. The number of jobless fell 7,000 in the fourth quarter to 1.6 million people, leaving the unemployment rate at 4.8 percent, the lowest in more than a decade. However, the employment rate rose to a record 74.6 percent, the data showed.
Further, basic pay growth slowed in the quarter to 2.6 percent from 2.7 percent, weaker than economists had forecast. Growth in total pay also slowed, in part reflecting the timing of bank bonuses. The ONS data also said that the claimant count, a narrower measure of unemployment plunged 42,400 in January after a revised 20,500 drop in December.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 rose 0.35 percent to 7,294.25 by 09:40 GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained neutral at -2.16 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
