EUR/GBP keeps hesitating around 0.8650 following UK employment data

• The Euro ticked up from daily lows against the Pound, despite positive UK employment data.
• Net employment increased beyond expectations in August, with lower-than-forecasted jobless claims
• EUR/GBP remains trapped between 0.8635 and 0.8665 with all eyes on the BoE.

The Euro ticked up on Tuesday’s early European session following better-than-expected UK employment figures. The pair, however, remains trading sideways without a clear bias, consolidating losses between 0.8635 and 0.8665 following a reversal from early September highs above 0.8700.

Data released by National Statistics on Tuesday revealed that the UK Claimant Count Change increased by 17.4K in August, following a 33.3K decline in July, yet below market expectations of a 20K increment.

Beyond that, net employment rose by 232K, following July’s 239K and beating expectations of a 22K increase. The ILO Unemployment rate remained steady at 4.7% and wage growth moderated to a 4.8% yearly rate in the three months to July, from the previous 5% level.

These figures hardly change investors’ expectations that the Bank of England will keep its benchmark Repo Rate on hold after Thursday’s meeting, before a further quarter-point cut later in the year.

From a technical perspective, the immediate bias remains bearish, with the mentioned 0.8635 (September 10,15 lows) providing support ahead of the mid and late-August lows at the 0.8600-0.8610 area. Upside attempts are limited to 0.8665 (September 10,11 highs).