GBP surrendered without resistance. Overview for 17.05.2023

The British pound remains under pressure against the US dollar. The current GBPUSD quote is 1.2436.

First, the Pound Sterling is under pressure from a strong US Dollar, which is in demand as a safe-haven asset while global capital markets are avoiding risk.

UK employment market statistics released yesterday were disappointing. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in March from 3.8% previously. At the same time, no changes had been expected there. The national average wage rose by 5.8% in the January-March period - no surprises here. Unexpectedly, the number of claims for unemployment benefits for April increased by 46.7 thousand from 26.5 thousand previously, while growth by 31.2 thousand had been forecast.

This news is negative for the British pound, and increased already existing pressure.

This week's interesting statistics from the UK will be published only on Friday. It will be the consumer confidence index from GfK for May. Last time, the index fell to -30 points. Recovery of the index could support the Pound, but there is little hope for that.