The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the European session on Friday, after data showed that the U.K. unemployment rate fell to the lowest since 2008.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the ILO jobless rate came in at 5.6 percent in three months to February, down from 5.8 percent in September to November. The rate came in line with expectations.

There were 1.84 million unemployed people, down by 76,000 from September to November period.

The pound rose to more than a 4-week high of 1.5008 against the U.S. dollar and an 8-day high of 178.39 against the yen, from early lows of 1.4915 and 177.43, respectively.

Pulling away from an early near 2-week low of 1.4264 against the Swiss franc, the pound climbed to 1.4320.

Against the euro, the pound edged up to 0.7195 from an early low of 0.7219.

If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.52 against the greenback, 180.50 against the yen, 1.47 against the franc and 0.70 against the euro.

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