Ella 
GBP/JPY briefly touched fresh multi-week highs above the 186.00 mark on Tuesday as the Japanese yen (JPY) fell across the board, while the pound briefly gained after UK labor data showed stronger job creation in December than in the previous month.
Changes in the number of unemployment benefits in the UK showed that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the UK in December changed to 11,700. However, the initial value of this indicator in November was 16,000, which was later significantly revised down to only 0.06 million. UK jobless claims data are known for being subject to revisions, and markets will be looking for a similar downward revision in December’s indicator ahead of the release of January’s jobless claims changes.
Average hourly earnings, including bonuses, fell more than expected. The UK’s average three-month annual wage rate including bonuses in November was 6.5%, lower than the 6.8% expected and further down from the previous value of 7.2%.
ILO employment changes in the UK also jumped to 73,000 in November from 50,000 in October, a six-month high.
Market participants in the Asia-Pacific region will focus on China’s gross domestic product, industrial production and retail sales data released early Wednesday at 10:00 Beijing time. The UK will also release the second round of data that will affect the pound, including UK consumer price index (CPI) inflation data, producer price index (PPI) and retail price index.
UK inflation is expected to rebound from -0.2% to 0.2% on a monthly basis in December, while the retail price index is expected to rise from -0.1% to 0.4% on a monthly basis over the same period. The non-seasonally adjusted producer price index through December is also expected to rise to 0.4% from -0.2%.
