UK Jobless Rate Drops, LSE Revenues Rise 10%

Arthi Gupta
18 Jul, 2012
New York City

The UK indexes gained after jobless rate fell in the quarter to May. Consumer demand growth in the UK slowed in July. The Bank of England policymakers split on quantitative easing decision.

[R]3:45 PM London – The UK indexes gained after jobless rate fell in the quarter to May. Consumer demand growth in the UK slowed in July. The Bank of England policymakers split on quantitative easing decision.[/R]

The UK indexes advanced after the unemployment rate declined in the quarter to May.

The Bank of England policymakers raised the size of economic stimulus by £50 billion this month through a split vote as two members, Spencer Dale and Ben Broadbent voted to retain it at £325 billion, the minutes of the meeting held on July 4 and 5 showed.

However, all nine members were unanimous in retaining the interest rate at a record low 0.50%.

Consumer demand growth in the UK slowed in July with confidence dipping due to worries about the economic outlook, the Bank of England''s network of regional agents said.

The report showed that manufacturing output growth weakened, while construction output declined again.

In London, the benchmark index FTSE 100 gained 40.32 or 0.7% to 5,669.36 and the pound edged lower to $1.5622.

UK Jobless Rate Falls

The unemployment rate in the UK declined in the quarter to May, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed today.

The unemployment rate as measured by the ILO standards fell to 8.1% in three months to May from a revised 8.3% in the three months through February. The number of unemployed people fell by 65,000 over the quarter, but increased by 132,000 on the year, to reach 2.58 million.

The number of people unemployed for over two years increased by 18,000 over the quarter to reach 441,000, the highest since the three months to July 1997.

The claimant count rose by 6,100 last month, bringing the total number of people claiming jobless benefits to 1.6 million.

The seasonally adjusted claimant count rate for the UK was 4.9% in June, unchanged from May.

Gainers & Losers

BHP Billiton plc rose 0.6% to 1,793.50 pence after the diversified natural resources company reported fourth quarter iron ore production rose 15% to 40.89 million tons from the year-ago period.

The company reported a 19% increase in full-year 2012 iron ore production to a record 159.48 million tons.

Crude oil barrels of equivalent declined 8% to 19 million barrels and fell 7% to 85.2 million barrels. Copper production in the June quarter increased 15% to 312,000 tons and in the fiscal year fell 4% to 1.1 million ton.

Energy coal production increased slightly to 18.4 million tons in the quarter and for the year gained 2% to 71 million tons. Metallurgical coal production increased a modest 2% to 8 million tons in the quarter and 33 million tons.

Capital Shopping Centres Group plc, the shopping centers developer climbed 1.7% to 332.90 pence after a broker upgrade.

Fresnillo plc climbed 1.6% to 1,430 pence after the silver and gold miner reported second quarter gold production rose 15% annually to 127,003 ounces.

GlaxoSmithKline plc edged higher 1.1% to $45.91 after the healthcare group and Amicus Therapeutics agreed to expand Fabry disease collaboration.

London Stock Exchange Group plc fell 2% to 993 pence after the independent bourse reported first quarter revenue rose 10% to £179 million. Total income advanced 10% to £209.5 million.