The Pound Sterling was relatively range-bound during Thursday trade in London, but FX traders are hopeful that the trading week will end on a positive note. Analysts are forecasting that the Conservative Party is very likely to take a majority of the seats in the December general election. Polls are showing a 10 point lead for the Conservative party over the Labour Party. The Prime Minister is promising an end to the uncertainty in the hope that investment will pick up; as recently as this week, the Tesla group made the decision to build a new factory in Germany rather than the UK because of the Brexit uncertainty.
The GBP/USD was higher at $1.2859, a gain of 0.0592% as of 11:05 am in London. The pair has traded from a trough of $1.28244 to $1.28674 in this trading session. The EUR/GBP is lower at 0.8552 Pence, a loss of 0.132%, and off the session low of 0.85498 Pence.
Labor News Sends Aussie Dollar Lower
In Australia, an unexpectedly poor showing of labor data pushed the Aussie Dollar lower against the greenback. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the unemployment rate edge higher to 5.3% while the seasonally adjusted employment rate change came in at -19,500 against an expected rise to 15,000. That news is raising some investor concerns that the Reserve Bank of Australia might be forced to lower rates sooner rather than later. The AUD/USD was trading at $0.6784, a loss of 0.7737% and not too far off the earlier low of $0.67834.