Inflation on the way up again as energy bills and tuition fees strike
INFLATION will be back in the spotlight tomorrow when official figures are released, followed by the Bank of England’s quarterly Inflation Report on Wednesday.
While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to 2.2 per cent in September, it is expected to increase again due to rising tuition and energy bills.
“We expect the CPI to resume its upward trend in October, rising to 2.5 per cent as higher tuition fees and an increase in energy prices from utility firm SSE feed through,“ said Blerina Uruci of Barclays.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) unemployment will also be released on Wednesday and analysts predict the unemployment rate will remain at 7.9 per cent, or possibly even decrease.
On Thursday, there will be further economic news, with reports on UK retail sales and Eurozone inflation.
In corporate news, Bovis Homes, Cobham, Interserve and Taylor Wimpey are all set to report today.
Tomorrow will bring updates from Vodafone, Bank of Ireland, Capita, Cineworld, ITV, John Menzies, Johnston Press and Persimmon.
On Wednesday Great Portland Estates, Carphone Warehouse, ICAP, J Sainsbury, Moneysupermarket.com, Prudential, Tullow Oil and WH Smith will give results, while Thursday brings news from Antofagasta, Premier Oil, Resolution, Ted Baker, Centrica, Invensys, National Grid and 3i Group.
On Friday the London Stock Exchange will publish its half-year results, while Aegis Group, IMI, Paddy Power and Serco Group will also give updates.