020 7898 0500Another positive figure defies the Brexit sentiment; this time it was the unemployment numbers. The two main figures that the market keeps a close eye are the average earnings (salary inflation) and claimant change (new benefit claims). Average weekly earnings rose by 2.6 percent for the previous three months, which is a small increase on the previous month; while the claimant change increased, but by less than expected. The headline figure to hit the media is that UK unemployment fell slightly to 1.62 million in the last three month period, while the unemployment rate holds an 11 year low. This continues to be encouraging for an economy with so much political uncertainty.
Today is another busy day for UK centric news. Retail sales will be released first, which is expected to disappoint somewhat from the big increase last month. Sales growth is expected to come in at 0.2 percent, which is fairly anaemic given the time of year. This number is key to economic growth for the nation and could put pressure on the Gross Domestic Product figures, as consumer spending makes up between 60-70 percent of the number. Following this is the Bank of England meeting, where it is expected that both interest rates and the quantitative easing programme will remain unchanged. Like last night’s US Federal Reserve, Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the rhetoric that follows will be key for future projections on monetary policy.
