Next week brings the first key US job market reading of the year, alongside UK retail sales and house market data, as normal service resumes after the Christmas break.
Retail sales figures for December from the British Retail Consortium will kick off proceedings on Tuesday, delving into the vital Christmas trading period.
Figures so far have shown footfall across the industry declined over the month, with forecasts pointing to a further 2.4% drop in sales after November’s 3.4% fall, according to Trading Economics.
Halifax later in the day is expected to report a 0.8% increase in house prices for the month, following November’s 1.3% rise, as prospective buyers rush to avoid higher stamp duty from April.
Friday’s US non-farm payroll and unemployment figures for December then cap off the week, following dashed expectations for upcoming rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Expectations are for 150,000 jobs to have been added to the economy over the month, against November’s 227,000, as unemployment remains unchanged at 4.2%.
“This would all be consistent with the general cooling of the jobs market,” ING Economics analysts noted.
“But, after 100 basis points of Fed rate cuts in 2024, the widely held view is that we will see a much slower and less aggressive series of moves in 2025.”
European inflation and unemployment figures are also due over the week, alongside PMI data from the UK and US balance of trade numbers.