Traders will be looking stateside for US PCE inflation data on Friday, a key measure for the rate-setters of the Federal Reserve along with wages and jobs data due a week later.
With US consumer price index dipping to 8.3% in April, down from a 41-year high the previous month, the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index is the measure the Fed favours.
Economists expect the PCE to retreat slightly to 5.0% from 5.2% in March but prices are predicted to remain high for at least the rest of the year and markets are pricing a 93% chance of another half-percentage point hike in US interest rates to 1.5% in mid-June, with a two-thirds chance that rates will be as high as 3% by Christmas.
On the corporate scene, Renewi PLC (LSE:RWI), the waste-to-product business, said in March that trading in the year to the end of March had been ahead of previous expectations and performance for this year should also be ahead of market forecasts.
The company was also boasting of its ability to pass inflationary costs through to customers, so we’ll see if that is still the case now that the inflation demon is getting its groove on.
Significant announcements expected
Finals: Renewi PLC, Volvere (AIM:VLE) PLC
AGMs: Barr AG, Big Technologies PLC (AIM:BIG), BMO Commercial Property Trust Ltd, DeepMatter Group PLC (AIM:DMTR), Destiny Pharma Holdings PLC, Hostmore PLC (LSE:MORE), LSL Property Services PLC, Old Mutual Limited (LSE:OMU), Oxford Biomedica PLC, Spectris PLC (LSE:SXS), The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (LSE:TRIG), Triple Point Social Housing Reit PLC (LSE:SOHO)
Economic data: Personal Consumption Expenditure (US), Personal Income (US), Personal Spending (US), U. of Michigan Confidence (US)