Thanks for joining me. Unemployment fell unexpectedly in a sign that Britain\u2019s jobs market was holding up in the face of the fallout from the Iran war.<\/p>\n
The rate of people out of work declined from 5pc to 4.9pc in the three months to April, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Economists had expected it to remain at 5pc.<\/p>\n
The number of people on payrolls rose by 2,000 in May compared to the previous month to 30.3 million, while wage growth held unexpectedly at 3.4pc between February and April, albeit at a six-year low.<\/p>\n
Despite an overall improving picture, vacancies fell further to their lowest level since early 2021.<\/p>\n
The figures complicate the picture for the Bank of England, which is expected to keep interest rates on hold for the fourth consecutive meeting.<\/p>\n
Analysts think policymakers will keep rates at 3.75pc after inflation was lower than forecast last month, remaining unchanged at 2.8pc.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, oil prices have plunged this week from around $87 to $77 after a preliminary deal to end the Middle East war was announced by the US and Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Donald Trump signed the memorandum of understanding in Versailles on Wednesday night. Here is what you need to know.<\/p>\n
5 things to start your dayOil and gas staff forced to take pay cuts to work in green energy<\/a> | Renewables industry workers face a \u2018hire and fire\u2019 culture, union leader tells MPsBurnham accused of \u2018smoke and mirrors\u2019 over Manchester bus claims<\/a> | Much-lauded Bee Network relies on subsidies from central government, says private operatorWorld facing a glut of oil after Iran peace deal<\/a> | International Energy Agency predicts \u2018significant overhang\u2019 in supply next yearJunk food crackdown making Britain less attractive, warns Cadbury owner<\/a> | \u2018Volatile\u2019 advertising and production rules risk hurting investment, says Mondel\u0113z chairmanEssay: Maggie vs Maga: The battle for the soul of Reform<\/a> | Nigel Farage\u2019s party is torn between two philosophies as its economic policies emergeWhat happened overnight<\/p>\n Shares surged in Asia after the US and Iran signed their initial agreement ending the war.<\/p>\n Indexes in Japan and South Korea set fresh records despite a retreat on Wall Street on Wednesday followed by speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this year to curb inflation.<\/p>\n Leaders from the US and Iran signed the deal on a permanent end to hostilities. It starts a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran\u2019s nuclear program, in the meantime it calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.<\/p>\n The deal waives US-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to details released by both countries.<\/p>\n The news came after US markets closed. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 kept on surging, gaining 1.9pc to 71,233.35. It topped 70,000 for the first time this week and is still gaining thanks to hopes for an end to the war and buying of high-tech shares due to the artificial intelligence boom.<\/p>\n South Korea likewise has been setting records, gaining 0.6pc to 8,917.31. Taiwan\u2019s Taiex jumped 1pc.<\/p>\n The mood was mixed elsewhere. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 1.4pc to 23,968.66, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1pc higher.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s S&P\/ASX 200 slipped 0.4pc to 8,930.50.<\/p>\n The US Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates at 3.75pc as policymakers grapple with the energy price shock from the Iran war.<\/p>\n Almost half of officials at the central bank said they expected at least one increase to interest rates by the end of the year. It marked a dramatic shift from March when 12 out of the 19 policymakers forecast that they would cut borrowing costs by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n Stocks on Wall Street ended the day lower as investors reacted to the changed outlook for interest rates. The S&P 500 declined 1.2pc, the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 1.3pc and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1pc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thanks for joining me. Unemployment fell unexpectedly in a sign that Britain\u2019s jobs market was holding up in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[160074,84,4126,1294,2016,4626,164199,160075,9913,56,1893,54,55],"class_list":["post-645848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-apple-news-free","tag-business","tag-dow-jones-industrial-average","tag-economy","tag-ftse-100","tag-global-economy","tag-iran-war","tag-live-priority","tag-pound","tag-uk","tag-uk-economy","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}