Wednesday preview: US CPI, China foreign trade in the spotlight

All eyes on Wednesday will be on the US consumer price report for June which may turn out to be the week's key release.

Consensus is for the annual rate of CPI inflation to edge higher from 8.6% for May to 8.8% in June, although at the core level the rate of price gains is seen easing from 6.0% to 5.8%.

If their forecasts are met then the discussion among economists may revolve around to what extent the Fed should weight the movements in headline CPI versus those at the core level, even as analysts try to discern the risks to energy prices that may yet lie ahead and how sustained they might be.

Of key importance as well will be Chinese foreign trade numbers for June which are due out overnight.

Also out of Asia, rate-setters in South Korea and New Zealand are scheduled to announce their latest interest rate decisions.

Both central banks are seen hiking official short-term interest rates by 50 basis points to 2.25% and 2.50%, respectively.

On home shores meanwhile, at 0700 BST the Office for National Statistics is expected to report that the UK's gross domestic product expanded at a month-on-month pace of 0.1% in May, weighed down by a contraction in both services and industrial output.

Economists at Barclays Research however are anticipating an advance of 0.3% on the month, as they have penciled-in growth of 0.4% for the index of services and a flat reading for industrial production.

In the euro area meanwhile, investors will be waiting on final readings for German, French and Spanish consumer prices in June, alongside industrial production figures for the single currency bloc in May.

Wednesday 13 July

INTERIMS

Getbusy

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Renew Holdings

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

Assura

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Price Index (GER) (07:00)

Consumer Price Index (US) (13:30)

Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)

Industrial Production (EU) (10:00)

MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)

Q2

Pagegroup

FINALS

Ilika, Loungers , Renold

AGMS

Asiamet Resources Limited (DI) , Braveheart Investment Group, Esken Limited, LondonMetric Property, MyCelx Technologies Corporation (DI), Steppe Cement Ltd

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Novolipetsk Steel GDS (Reg S), PJSC Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works GDR (Reg S)

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Balance of Trade (07:00)

Gross Domestic Product (07:00)

Index of Services (07:00)

Industrial Production (07:00)

Manufacturing Production (07:00)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Michelmersh Brick Holdings, Severn Trent