The headline rate of inflation for goods leaving the factory gate (output prices) rose 2.8% on the year to January 2018, down from 3.3% in December 2017. Prices for materials and fuels (input prices) rose 4.7% on the year to January 2018, down from 5.4% in December 2017. All industries provided upward contributions to output annual inflation; the largest contribution was made by food products. Prices of imported materials and fuels increased 3.5% on the year to January 2018, slowing from 5.2% in December 2017 and the lowest the rate has been since June 2016.
Friday's session brought UK Retail Sales data. In January 2018, the underlying pattern in retail sales, as suggested by the three-month on three-month measure, is one of slow growth with the quantity bought increasing by 0.1%; the lowest growth since April 2017. The monthly growth rate for the quantity bought increased by 0.1% with declines across all main sectors except non-food stores. When compared with January 2017, the quantity bought in January 2018 increased by 1.6%; a slowdown to year-on-year growth when compared with an increase of 2.4% in January 2017.
This week markets will be looking at:
Average Earnings Index/Claimant Count Change/Unemployment Rate (Wednesday 10:30)
Second Estimate GDP (Thursday 10:30)
