GBP/USD bulls unimpressed by mixed UK employment details

• The UK wages excluding bonuses rose 3.8% 3Mo YoY in August.
• The UK wages including bonuses rose 3.8% 3Mo YoY in August.
• The UK unemployment rate ticks higher to 3.9% in August.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) report released this Tuesday, the UK average weekly earnings – excluding bonuses –rose 3.8% 3Mo YoY in August versus the previous month’s upwardly revised reading of 3.9% previous. The gauge including bonuses decelerated a bit to 3.8% 3Mo YoY during the reported month, missing consensus estimates pointing to a reading of 4.0% and slightly lower than the previous month’s downwardly revised reading of 3.9%.
 
Meanwhile, the official jobless rate ticked higher to 3.9% in August, while the claimant count change showed a minor decrease. In fact, the number of people claiming jobless benefits rose 21.1K in September as compared to 26.5K expected and the previous month’s downwardly revised reading of 16.3K. The claimant count rate rose to 3.3%.
 
Tuesday’s mixed UK labor market report did little to provide any meaningful impetus, through renewed optimism over a possible UK-EU Brexit deal remained supportive of the strong bid tone surrounding the British Pound.