Anna 
The British pound (GBP/USD) depreciated by 0.3% to 1.2523 following the release of the latest UK jobs data, which revealed an increase in the country’s unemployment rate to its highest level in almost a year.
The UK unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the three months to March, up from 4.2% in the previous three months and marking the highest level since May to July last year.
While the rise in unemployment could strengthen expectations for future rate cuts by the Bank of England (BoE), the situation is complicated by the news of strong wage growth in the country. Average wage growth, excluding bonuses, remained robust at 6%, exceeding expectations of a slowdown to 5.9% between January and March.
Meanwhile, the euro to US dollar (EUR/USD) pair traded 0.1% lower at 1.0778 after the release of the German consumer price index (CPI), which indicated that inflation remains under control in the eurozone’s largest economy.
German CPI rose by 2.2% on an annual basis in April, only slightly above the European Central Bank’s (ECB) medium-term target of 2%.
The ECB is widely anticipated to commence interest rate cuts from a record high in June, with market expectations now leaning towards up to three rate cuts this year, potentially occurring in September and December after the initial cut in June. These developments are likely to influence currency markets as investors assess the implications of central bank policy actions on exchange rates and economic conditions.
