A fall in the jobless claim figures for the UK have resulted in a strengthening of sterling, it has been claimed, which could be good news for hedge funds.

A fall in the jobless claim figures for the UK have resulted in a strengthening of sterling, it has been claimed, which could be good news for hedge funds.

While commentators had predicted a rise of 8,400, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits actually fell by a total of 32,400.

Duncan Higgins, senior analyst at Caxton FX, has claimed that this has been a real boost for the UK economy at a point when people's feelings about it were negative.

He said: "Today's data falls back in line with the general trend that conditions in the labour market are improving. The markets have reacted quite strongly, taking the pound broadly higher, moving it to an intra-month high against the euro."

Earlier this month, the Manufacturing Institute's head of programmes Adam Buckley claimed that the country's recovery depends heavily on the manufacturing sector.

He said that this area's health will affect the country's balance of trade through export.