European part of Tuesday's session was marked by UK Construction PMI figures. At 59.1 in January, up from 57.6 in December, the seasonally adjusted UK Manufacturing PMI pointed to a robust and accelerated expansion of overall business activity at the start of 2015. Analysts were anticipating decline to 56.9. The index has registered above the neutral 50.0 threshold for 21 months running, although the latest reading was the still second-lowest seen since September 2013. As a result, the latest survey indicated that overall growth momentum rebounded since December, but was much weaker than the average for 2014 as a whole (61.8).

On Wednesday, UK Services PMI data was released. UK Services PMI posted 57.2 in January compared to 55.8 in December. Analysts were predicting rise to 56.6. Growth has now been recorded for 25 months in succession, and panellists attributed the latest expansion to the start-up of new projects, higher marketing activity and rising levels of new business.

Thursday brought BoE asset purchase and interest rate decision. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee at its meeting voted to maintain Bank Rate at 0.5%, in line with market forecasts. The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £375 billion.

On Friday, UK Trade Balance figures were released. Seasonally adjusted, the UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated to have been £2.9 billion in December 2014, compared with £1.8 billion in November 2014. This reflects a deficit of £10.2 billion on goods, above expected deficit of £9.0 billion, which was partly offset by an estimated surplus of £7.3 billion on services. The widening of the overall deficit mainly reflects an increase in the import of goods from countries outside of the European Union (EU).

This week markets will be looking at:

Industrial Production/Manufacturing Production (Tuesday 10:30)

BOE Inflation Report/BOE Gov Carney Speaks (Thursday 10:30)