020 7898 0500The headline release from the UK yesterday was the Markit manufacturing PMI for July which came in below expectations of 54.2. It had been expected to dip from an upwardly revised 54.3 in June, but not by as much as it did, with it slipping to 54.0. Production growth eased to its lowest mark in 16 months, with new orders rising by the least amount since July 2017.
Year-on-year, Nationwide housing prices jumped to 2.5% in July from 2% the month before and above the 1.9% analysts had forecast. On a monthly basis, prices increased by 0.6% against an expectation of 0.2%.
Today we have the BoE’s interest rate decision announcement at 12pm. It really is one of the most unpredictable rate decisions in recent times, with many analysts split on whether rates will be increased by 25 basis points to 0.75%. We will also see construction PMI for July; the sector is expected to have slowed a little to 52.8 from 53.1 the month before.
