UK January claimant count +73,800, better than expected

The UK January claimant count came in at +73,800, better than the consensus forecast of +90,000, with the unemployment rate at +3.8%, the highest since February 2000.

The ILO jobless rate for the 3 months to December rose +146,000 to 1.971 mln, giving a rate of 6.3% which was in line with the consensus forecast. Cable has rallied nicely in the wake of the figures, presently up at 1.4495.