Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be watching next week’s hard data prints with close interest with Tuesday’s inflation figures key.
Consumer prices are forecast to jump to at least 2.6% in April, sharply higher than the 2.3% seen in February and March. While Carney
has said that he would look through higher short-term inflation, the squeeze on wages will be noted. And on Wednesday, average
weekly UK earnings are released and are unlikely to rise above the current level of 2.3%, leaving consumers out of pocket as price rises
overtake wage rises.
And it’s not just governor Carney who will watching inflation releases next week with Euro-Zone CPI released on Wednesday. Headline
Inflation is expected to stay below 2%, while core inflation (excluding fuel and food) looks likely to be confirmed at 1.2%, the highest level since June 2013.
With recent upbeat soft and hard data showing the Euro-Zone growing at a decent clip, expect increased calls for ECB President to start tightening the
Current ultra-loose monetary policy.
In Germany the latest ZEW sentiment readings on Friday are expected to rise further. The release, an amalgamation of around 350 analysts’ views on
Interest rates, inflation and stock markets. With interest rates ultra-low and stock markets at or very near to record highs, expect the releases to
Make fresh multi-month highs.
