Pound Falls Amid Weak UK Jobs Report as Dollar Continues to Strengthen

The British pound fell to a new low on Tuesday after a weak UK jobs report revealed private sector payrolls decreased by 34,000 in August. The data showed that hospitality and retail hiring contracted more than 3% annually.

This news comes as the dollar continues to strengthen, with strategist Francesco Pesole from ING stating that the greenback's rise is driven by supportive short-term drivers such as front-end rates, higher energy prices, and soft risk sentiment.

Despite this, James Smith from ING believes that the Bank of England will hold interest rates at 0.75% on Thursday, citing wage growth near a floor of 2.9%, consistent with the BoE's 2% inflation target.