The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the European session on Wednesday, after data showed that the U.K. unemployment rate dropped in the first quarter.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the ILO jobless rate came in at 4.6 percent in three months to March, the lowest since 1975. The rate dropped from 5.1 percent in the prior year and 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The number of unemployed decreased by 53,000 from prior quarter to 1.54 million in three months to March. At the same time, the employment rate was 74.8 percent in the first quarter, the highest since comparable records began in 1971.

Average earnings including bonus advanced 2.4 percent annually, in line with expectations. Excluding bonus, earnings grew 2.1 percent.

In the Asian trading, the pound held steady against its major rivals.

In the European trading, the pound rose to 1.2952 against the U.S. dollar, from an early low of 1.2906. The pound may test resistance near the 1.30 area.

Against the yen, the euro and the Swiss franc, the pound advanced to 145.71, 0.8563 and 1.2749 from an early near 2-week low of 144.95, a 1-1/2-month low of 0.8615 and nearly a 1-month low of 1.2676, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 148.00 against the yen, 0.83 against the euro and 1.30 against the franc.

Looking ahead, Canada manufacturing sales data for March and U.S. crude oil inventories data are slated for release in the New York session.

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