On Tuesday, the exchange rate of the pound/dollar currency pair rose to the level of 1.3855.
After a rather restrained reaction to the UK employment report last week, quotes received a new impetus yesterday. The UK's National statistics office reported that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by 58,600 in August, against an expected decline of 71,700 people. The slight disappointment was largely offset by the expected decline in the unemployment rate to 4.6% in the three months to July. The average salary, excluding bonuses, decreased to 6.8%. The indicator was significantly lower than the last reporting period, but coincided with preliminary estimates. The pound is still one of the strongest currencies among the assets of the G-10 countries. Macroeconomic data generally support the demand for the British currency. High consumer inflation leaves chances for an early reduction of the quantitative easing program, possibly even this year. The next meeting of the Bank of England may be decisive. Market participants expect that the British regulator will more accurately indicate its intentions to change monetary policy.
In the forecast, we expect a further increase in the pound/dollar exchange rate to the price values of 1.3880, 1.3900 and 1.3925.