Inflation is rearing its ugly head again so there will be keen interest on Friday and the US core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index for May.
The numbers could give a clue to future Federal Reserve policy on “tapering” – the gradual reduction of quantitative easing.
“If this shows accelerating prices then this will only boost tapering speculation further, now that the Fed has started talking about talking about [sic] tapering. If so, it could provide the dollar with renewed strength and may be bad news for stocks,” suggested Fawad Razaqzada at Think Markets/
The market is expecting a 0.6% month-on-month increase.
US personal income, which fell 13.1% in April, is expected to have fallen 2.5% in May, which is progress of sorts, I suppose.
In the UK, the GfK consumer confidence survey for June is expected to show an improvement in the balance number to -7 from -9 in May.
At 11.00am, the CBI distributive trades survey is set to release reported sales from its survey respondents for the month of May.
Significant announcements expected
Finals: Jade Road Investments Ltd (LON:JADE)
Economic data: UK consumer confidence, US personal incomes