BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The British pound weakened against other major currencies in the early European session on Tuesday, after the U.K. unemployment rate rose slightly in the three months to April period.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the ILO jobless rate rose to 4.6 percent, as expected, from 4.5 percent in the preceding period.
Average earnings including bonus grew 5.3 percent in three months to April from the previous year. The rate came in line with expectations.
Excluding bonus, average earnings climbed 5.2 percent from a year ago but slower than the forecast of 5.5 percent.
During three months to May, the number of vacancies declined 63,000 from the previous quarter to 736,000. This was the 35th consecutive quarterly decline.
In May, payroll employees decreased 109,000 from the previous month to 30.2 million.
Data showed that about 47,0000 working days were lost due to labor disputes in April.
Meanwhile, the European stock markets traded higher as the U.S.-China trade talks continue for a second day in London to defuse tensions over chip exports and critical minerals.
There was no significant breakthrough after the first day of negotiations, but U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that the talks were 'going well' and that he was 'only getting good reports'.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the meeting was 'good' while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the discussions 'fruitful.'
On the geopolitical front, Russia carried out 'massive' drone attacks on Ukraine's capital Kyiv and port city of Odesa early today, killing one person and hitting a maternity hospital, Ukrainian officials said.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Israel's blockade of Gaza and its obstruction of humanitarian aid 'outrageous', while urging an immediate ceasefire, the release of all detainees, and the reopening of border crossings.
In the European trading today, the pound fell to a 1-week low of 0.8450 against the euro and an 8-day low of 1.3483 against the U.S. dollar, from early highs of 0.8418 and 1.3565, respectively. If the pound extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.85 against the euro and 1.33 against the greenback.
Against the Swiss franc and the yen, the pound dropped to a 5-day low of 1.1089 and a 4-day low of 194.91 from an early 4-day high of 1.1146 and nearly a 4-week high of 196.45, respectively. The pound may test support near 1.09 against the franc and 192.00 against the yen.
Looking ahead, Eurozone Sentix investor confidence survey data is due at 4:30 am ET. The investor sentiment index is expected to rise to -6.0 in June from -8.1 in May.
In the New York session, U.S. NFIB Small Business Optimism for May and U.S. Redbook report are slated for release.
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