The sterling remained steady on Tuesday after an inflow of British job market data that showed that wage growth remained strong despite a weakening labor market. The British pound remained flat against the U.S. dollar at $1.2507, thereby sustaining its 0.35% growth from the previous session.
Excluding bonuses, British wages grew by 7.8% in the three months to July when compared to the previous year, figures from the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday showed. This matches the record pace reached in June and falls in line with analysts’ expectations. When including bonuses, wages grew 8.5%, exceeding the 8.4% growth the previous month.
Wage growth continued despite an uptick in unemployment, from 4.2% in June to 4.3% in July. Ashley Webb, UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics explained that while the labor market eased in July, wage growth “will only add to the Bank of England’s unease and supports our view that the Bank will raise interest rates once more, from 5.25% currently to a peak of 5.50%, next week.”