Slowing Wage Growth and Rising Unemployment in the UK Support the Case for Monetary Easing by the Bank of England
Wage growth in the UK slowed during the quarter ending in September,
while the unemployment rate increased,
boosting the likelihood that the Bank of England will continue its monetary easing policies as the labor market loses some of its strength.
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UK
According to data released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday,
the average weekly wage in the UK rose by 4.8% year-on-year in the three months to September,
compared to a 4.9% increase in the previous period ending in August,
and growth of about 8% during the same period last year.
The data also showed that the unemployment rate increased to 4.3% from 4.1%, with the number of unemployed rising by 210,000.
Euro
Economic confidence in Germany and the Eurozone fell in November to levels lower than expected. Germany’s ZEW Institute released its economic sentiment indicators for both Germany and the Eurozone on Tuesday, which came in negative and below market expectations. According to the data, the ZEW economic sentiment index for Germany dropped to 7.4 points, below the expected rise to 13.2 points in September, and lower than October’s reading of 13.1 points. The ZEW economic sentiment index for the Eurozone also fell to 12.5 points in September, well below the expected 20.5 points and lower than October’s 20.1 points.
Gold
Gold continues to drop near its 7-week low due to the rising dollar and Bitcoin boom.
Gold prices continued to decline in early Tuesday trading, reaching their lowest level in nearly seven weeks,
pressured by the rising U.S. dollar and the surge in Bitcoin, which has reduced demand for dollar-priced commodities, including gold.
This decline comes amid market expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve under Trump will not rush to cut interest rates.
Additionally, Bitcoin’s record rise, surpassing $89,000, has drawn capital away from gold, further reducing demand for the precious metal. Markets are now awaiting the release of U.S. inflation data for October on Wednesday, which is expected to significantly impact the trajectory of U.S. monetary policy and, consequently, gold prices. In trading, spot gold contracts fell by 0.68%, losing about $17 in value to reach approximately $2,606.58 per ounce, while December gold futures fell by 0.37% to record $2,607.90 per ounce.
Slowing Wage Growth and Rising Unemployment in the UK