LONDON, Oct 17 Reuters Sterling fell on Tuesday after data showed that growth in British workers39; regular pay slowed from a previous record high and job vacancies also declined, with a softer labour market boosting the chance the Bank of England BoE will hold rates unchanged.

Sterling fell 0.4 against the dollar to 1.2169, moving towards a oneweek low hit last Friday.

It was down 0.4 against the euro at 86.75 pence, just off an almost twoweek low touched on Monday.

In a sign that the labour market is losing momentum, job vacancies declined and British average earnings, excluding bonuses, were 7.8 higher than a year earlier during the three months to August, down from an upwardly revised 7.9 in the three months to July, marking the first such fall since January.

The publication of some labour market data, including the unemployment rate, was delayed until next week.

The BoE is keeping a close eye on the labour market especially earnings figures as it tries to gauge whether it needs to resume raising interest rates, having opted to keep them on hold in September after 14 hikes in a row.

The pound has suffered sharp losses this morning, following the release of annual earnings data that saw wage growth outstrip inflation for the first time since October 2021, said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Nonetheless, with the BoE undoubtedly concerned at the rise of wages over recent months, todays decline eases concerns that we could see another…

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