Sterling climbs off 21-month nadir against dollar

Sterling rallied in American trade off February 2017 lows for another session against the greenback, following earlier data from Britain and the US today. 

As of 05:21 GMT, GBP/USD rose 0.24% to 1.2637, with an intraday high at 1.2639, and a 21-month trough at 1.2441. 

Earlier UK data showed the services PMI rose to 51.2 from 50.4, beating estimates of 50.7. 

Net lending to individuals fell to 4.4 billion pounds from 4.8 billion in October, as mortgage approvals fell to 64 thousand from 67 thousand. 

The M4 money supply steadied at zero, compared to a 0.7% increase in October. 

Otherwise, earlier US data showed the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in December from 3.7% in November, which was the lowest since 1969, while analysts expected no change. 

US average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in December, beating estimates of 0.3% and up from 0.2% in November. 

The US economy added 312 thousand new jobs in December, the fastest such pace since February 2018, and beating estimates of 179K, and compared to November's 176K, revised from 155K. 

 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell participated in a panel discussion titled "Federal Reserve chairs: Joint Interview" at the American Economic Association's Annual Meeting, in Atlanta, while Congress passed bills to end the partial government shutdown starting two weeks ago, in order to fund several federal agencies until February 8.