The pound traded marginally lower on Wednesday (14 September), even after data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed the UK employment rate reached a joint-record high between May and July of 2016.

Having slipped to a two-week low of €1.1714 against the euro on Tuesday, sterling failed to capitalise on the positive employment figures and was 0.09% lower against the euro at €1.1744 and broadly flat against the dollar at $1.3185.

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According to the ONS, the employment rate – which measures the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work – stood at 74.5% in the three months to July, marking the joint-highest since comparable records began in 1971 and unchanged from the period between April and June.

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people in the UK fell by 39,000 to 1.63 million between May and July, from the previous three months.

"While it will be some time before the impact of the Brexit vote is properly discernable, today's data offers further evidence that the labour market's health remains intact for the time being," said Chris Saint, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Currency Service.

"However, sterling's modest reaction suggests markets are sceptical this will yet be sufficient to alter the course for Bank of England policy, especially in the context of weak underlying pay growth."

Elsewhere, the euro was largely unchanged against the dollar, exchanging hands at $1.1223, while the greenback gained ground against the yen, climbing 0.27% to trade at ¥102.84. With the Federal Reserve set to announce its latest interest policy next Wednesday, Fed speakers have entered the so-called "blackout", the week-long period that precedes a Fed meeting, during which policymakers can no longer comment on the economy.

As such, and despite the host of economic data that will be released over the coming days, analysts have suggested investors could adopt a conservative approach.

"We will have a very quiet period until the next Wednesday when the Fed meets," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK.

"The only thing which investors will continue to pay attention to will be the economic data and any decisions made by the banks in the coming days. The market is not expecting a rate hike at this stage and if the Fed does increase the interest rate, the consequences could be dire."

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