020 7898 0500It has been a pretty good week for UK economic data so far this week, what with inflation dropping more than expected and wage growth accelerating to ease the cost-of-living burden. Sterling promptly strengthened following the release of the latest labour market data from the Office for National Statistics. The prospect of a UK interest rate rise has now increased, although it is felt that such a hike would come in May rather than later today. But you never know…
…we will find out at 12pm when BoE come together to announce their rate decision. It is unlikely that news from yesterday could significantly influence policies outlined today, but there is certainly increased expectations of a rise in May. If this happens, it appears that the central bank is toeing a similar line to the Fed, with gradual rate hikes in a relatively short space of time.
We will also see the retail sales figures for February which, year-on-year are expected to have dipped a little from 1.6% to 1.3%. However, so many recent releases have come in above or below forecast that it is currently anybody’s guess what the actual reading will be. A pretty eventful couple of days all told.
