Wednesday preview: UK CPI, Fed minutes in focus

Investors' focus in the middle of the week will be on consumer price data for the month of January.

At 0700 GMT, the Office for National Statistics is expected to report that on a harmonised basis the annual rate of CPI inflation edged up from 4.8% for December to 4.9% at the start of 2022.

Economists at Barclays Research on the other hand are anticipating a dip to 4.6% due to discounting on clothing and footwear after Christmas.

But they note that there are upside risks following the results of the last Bank of England Agents' survey which pointed to lower and less widespread discounting in non-food retail than normal post-Christmas.

ONS was also expected to update the weights to the CPI basket although that was not expected to have had a material effect.

In the US meanwhile, focus will be on the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, which are due out after the close of trading in London.

Reports for monthly retail sales, import prices and industrial production in January are all also due out.

Further afield, overnight China's National Bureau of Statistics will release consumer and factory gate price data for the month of January.

Across the Channel, the spotlight will be on euro area industrial production figures covering the last month of 2021.

Wednesday 16 February

INTERIMS

BHP Group Limited NPV (DI)

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Anglo Pacific Group

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Business Inventories (US) (15:00)

Capacity Utilisation (US) (14:15)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

Import and Export Price Indices (US) (13:30)

Industrial Production (EU) (10:00)

Industrial Production (US) (14:15)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

Retail Sales (US) (13:30)

FINALS

Indivior, Primary Health Properties, SEGRO

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ocean Outdoor Limited NPV (DI)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Price Index (07:00)

Producer Price Index (07:00)

Retail Price Index (07:00)