The data came out on Tuesday at 09:00 MSK. ILO unemployment - 4.7%, previous value 4.9%, consensus also 4.9%. So the figure came in better than expected, not just within forecast.
Inside the report, things aren't so smooth. The number of unemployment benefit claims in September rose by 30.3K versus 27.8K in August, against a forecast of 19.4K. The number of vacancies showed the sharpest decline since the start of the year - businesses are slowing hiring due to expensive labor.
Reaction in the pound. Before the release, GBP/USD traded around 1.3333 (+0.22%); after the data, the pair added about 0.3% and rose above 1.3350. That's more than 200 pips above last week's low. GBP/JPY rose 0.12%, to around 211.10.
For a trader, this is a classic double-report trap: the first reaction goes to the headline 4.7%, and then the market digests the rise in claims and the collapse in vacancies. The move on the impulse and the move an hour after the release often point in different directions.
Next up - it's busy. The same Tuesday sees US data on pending home sales, housing starts and building permits, and on Wednesday, October 21, the UK publishes inflation. A second reason for movement in the pound in a row.
Did you trade the pound at nine in the morning?
You saw that spike on the data release and you're already keeping Wednesday's inflation in mind. The question is different: prop firms have different attitudes to trades around a release. Some consider the minutes before the figure to be normal work, others close the account for a position opened a couple of minutes before the publication. That clause is looked for in the rules in advance, not on the day a payout is refused. Filtering by style immediately rules out programs where trading the pound on news is prohibited.