The unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over for the 3 months to February 2016 was 5.1%, in line with market expectations. This was: little changed compared with September to November 2015, but down from a year earlier (5.6%) and slightly lower than the pre-downturn trough of 5.2% for late 2007 to early 2008. The last time the unemployment rate was lower than 5.1% was for August to October 2005.
Thursday's session brought UK Retail Sales data. Continuing a sustained period of year-on-year growth, the volume of retail sales in March 2016 is estimated to have increased by 2.7% compared with March 2015. This was the 35th consecutive month of year-on-year growth. The underlying pattern in the data, as suggested by the 3 month on 3 month movement in the quantity bought, showed growth for the 28th consecutive month, increasing by 0.8%. Compared with February 2016, the quantity bought in the retail industry is estimated to have decreased by 1.3%. Analysts were anticipating 0.1% decrease.
This week markets will be looking at:
Prelim GDP (Wednesday 10:30)
Net Lending to Individuals (Friday 10:30)
Last modified on Friday, 22 April 2016
