The pound climbed to a 19-month high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, boosted by the release of mostly postive UK economic reports and as the greenback remained broadly under pressure.
GBP/USD climbed 0.65% to 1.4093, the highest since June June 2016.
The pound was boosted after official data on Wednesday showed that the UK unemployment rate held at a 42-year low in November, in line with expectations, while wage inflation excluding bonuses unexpectedly increased.
On a less positive note, data also showed that the UK claimant count increased by 8,600 in December, disappointing expectations for a gain of 5,400 people.
Sterling has been strongly supported in recent sessions by growing optimism around chances the UK could secure a favorable Brexit deal.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained broadly selling pressure even after Congress approved a measure on Monday to fund the government for around three weeks and President Donald Trump signed the bill, ending the three-day government shutdown.
Sterling was also higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.30% to 0.8757.
