UK Claimant Count Change comes in at 6.7K against 24K consensus

The UK Claimant Count Change for July, released today, showed an increase of 6.7K in unemployment claims. This figure was significantly lower than the consensus expectation of 24K. The actual print represents a -72.1% surprise versus consensus. The previous month’s figure was 31.3K.

Following the release, the British Pound generally strengthened against major currencies over the initial 15 minutes. GBPUSD rose 4.9 pips, while GBPJPY gained 11 pips. GBPCAD saw a rise of 13 pips. GBPNZD also moved up by 11 pips. GBPAUD increased by 2.9 pips. GBPCHF was up 0.6 pips. EURGBP moved down 2.2 pips, indicating GBP strength. These initial moves are generally smaller than the median 1-hour moves observed after past Claimant Count Change releases. For example, GBPUSD typically sees a median 1-hour move of 15 pips, and GBPCAD typically sees 15 pips.