Money Minute Monday 17 February: good news ahead for the UK economy?

Good morning and welcome to Monday’s Money Minute, where we look ahead to this week’s biggest financial stories.

In the UK on Tuesday we get the latest figures on unemployment, while on Wednesday we get the latest data on consumer price inflation. In common with most of the rest of the world, unemployment in the UK is low right now. The key figure to watch is wage inflation. As long as wages are rising more quickly than prices, consumption should hold up, which is good news for the broader economy.

Speaking of consumption, on Thursday we get the latest UK retail sales figures for January. These are likely to indicate more misery for the high street.

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Meanwhile, in the eurozone on Tuesday, we get the latest data on German business confidence. Hopes for a pick-up in German industrial activity have been dampened recently by weak data and the coronavirus outbreak, so this figure will be watched closely.

And on Friday, we get inflation data for the eurozone as a whole. This is set to remain well below the European Central Bank’s target of just under 2%.