Investors failed to react to the latest reading of UK employment data which showed a positive reading in November.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported the UK unemployment rate met expectations to decline to 4.2% from 4.3%, signaling the recovery in the job market continues to move on track.
Meanwhile, the number of unemployment claims showed a significant drop of 49,800 compared to 14,900 recorded previously.
The UK’s average weekly income, excluding bonuses, reached 4.9% in the three months to October compared with 5.9% the previous period.
The Bank of England (BOE) had previously said it wanted to ensure that the termination of the government subsidy scheme in September would not cause a spike in unemployment before deciding to raise interest rates.
However, the latest threat from the Omicron variant has raised concerns over the economic recovery and dampened investor confidence that the BOE will announce a rate hike at its policy meeting on Thursday.
The pound continued to trade gloomily around 1.32000 against the US dollar following the publication of this data, failing to capitalize on the upside while also being affected by the strong greenback.
