The major data releases quieten down for the remainder of this week. However, that all changes next week as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will release Britain’s latest inflation rate on Wednesday.
In the previous release, the UK’s annual inflation rate climbed to its highest in 41 years to 11.1%, from 10.1% in the previous month. The current rate was also much higher than market forecasts of 10.7%. This time around, markets are predicting Britain’s inflation will hit 11.3% in next Wednesday’s release. If markets are correct, this will push UK interest rates to nearly two times that of our neighbours across the pond in France.
In the stock markets, London stocks fell yesterday due to several factors, including disappointing Chinese trade data.
CMC Markets analyst, Michael Hewson said that, “European markets have remained on the back foot today after the latest China trade numbers for November saw both imports and exports fall off a cliff.”
There are reports that the UK government could clamp down on NHS strikes, following No 10 warning that the government had “not ruled out” plans to stop industrial action by nurses and ambulance drivers. Downing Street has suggested that this could be part of the prime minister’s promise of “tough” new measures to curb a wave of industrial action.
In a conversation with members of his personal human rights council on Wednesday, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin admitted that the ongoing war in Ukraine could turn into a “long-term process”.
He also denied that Russia was preparing for another round of mass mobilisation.
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