EURGBP Hits ING Target on Cooling Labour Market

The Euro to Pound exchange rate has been testing ING's near-term target of 0.8570/80, reaching around 0.8569 on Wednesday.

According to ING's James Smith, the UK labour market is cooling without giving the Bank of England much reason to respond with higher interest rates.

'Payrolled employment is down a touch,' Smith said, while consumer-services employment is falling at an increasing pace and 'the remaining private sector... is flatlining.'

ING concludes that the jobs market remains cool, and wage pressures are fairly minimal, suggesting little impetus for the Bank of England to hike rates this year.