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Week in Review - 13th August, 2010

Felicity Burch August 13, 2010 11:30

↑ UK Trade The deficit on visible goods narrowed from £8.0bn in May, to £7.4bn in June. There was a marked rise in export volumes, of 3.9% compared with last month. Import volumes fell slightly, by 0.2%.
↑  BRC Retail Sales Monitor Total retail sales in July 2010 were 2.6% higher than in July 2009. The majority of growth was from food sales. Non-food sellers saw flat sales and homewares retailers saw a fall in sales as consumers held back on making ‘big ticket’ purchases due to uncertainty around jobs and income prospects.
↑ CLG House Price Index UK house prices were 9.9% higher in June 2010 than they were 12 months earlier, with the average price of a house now £210, 775. House prices increased by 0.8% in the last quarter, however, much slower than the rise of 2.8% in the first quarter.
↔ Bank of England Inflation Report The Bank of England cut its forecast for output growth in the next two years, and raised its forecast for inflation over the same period.
↑ Labour Market Statistics The ILO measure of unemployment fell by 49,000 over the quarter to 2.46 million. The three-month unemployment rate remained at 7.8%. The claimant count measure of unemployment – which records the number of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance – was down by 3,800 to 1.46 million, the sixth consecutive monthly fall, and there are now 102,400 fewer claimants than at this point last year.

The week ahead 

Tue 17th: CPI

 

Wed 18th: EEF Pay Bulletin; MPC minutes

 Thu 19th: Trends in Lending; Public Sector Finances; Retail Sales 

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