Wednesday preview: UK jobs data in focus

UK employment data on Wednesday is expected to show a pick-up in the number of jobs added to the economy in the three months to May.

The Office for National Statistics data is forecast to reveal UK employers added 71,000 jobs during the period, compared to 55,000 n the three months to April. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 5.0%.

Average weekly earnings in the three months are predicted to have increased 2.3% compared to the same period a year earlier, up from 2.0% in the preceding quarter.

The Bank of England has been taking the health of the labour market into consideration in its policy decisions. A weak jobs report is likely to fuel speculation that the BoE will cut interest rates at the August meeting. The central bank has already indicated that it would loosen monetary policy at next month’s meeting following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union on 23 June.

HSBC said worries about the EU referendum “probably led to a more cautious approach in May and June, and have likely intensified since the result”.

On the corporate front, a batch of trading statements will be released from Johnson Matthey, Severn Trent, TalkTalk Telecom, Wizz Air and Electrocomponents. Production reports from Anglo American and Fresnillo are also due.

Wednesday 20 July

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Scottish Inv Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
Current Account (EU) (09:00)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)
Producer Price Index (GER) (07:00)

IMSS
Wizz Air Holdings

DRILLING REPORT
BHP Billiton, Fresnillo

AGMS
Ambrian , Ashmore Global Opportunities Limited GBP , Aurasian Minerals , B.P. Marsh & Partners, Electrocomponents, Experian, Highbridge Multi-Strategy Fund GBP Shares, IBIS Media VCT 1, IS Solutions, Lansdowne Oil & Gas, QinetiQ Group, Renold, Severn Trent

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Clinigen Group, Electrocomponents, Revolution Bars Group, Severn Trent

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Claimant Count Rate (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Hargreave Hale AIM VCT 2, Oxford Technology VCT