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UK economy braces for the latest data: have wages and consumer prices continued to rise?

By Daniela Hathorn

13:45, 16 October 2023

British banknotes and coins photographed directly above
British banknotes and coins photographed directly above. The coins are in a stack, placed on top of the banknotes. Source: getty images

The UK economy will be in focus this week as two crucial pieces of data will be released. First, on Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will release the August jobs data, including the unemployment rate.

But likely of more importance for markets will be the average earnings index which measures the change in salaries in the month. An increase in this index – from the current 7.8%, or 8.5% if bonuses are included – would mean that employees have demanded more compensation for their work.

And what does this mean for the UK economy? Well, unfortunately, it wouldn’t be good news.  In theory, a rise in earnings is a good sign as it gives a picture of a healthy and growing economy, but at present it will only add more fuel to the “inflation fire”. This is because the Bank of England (BoE) has been struggling to keep inflation under control, so a rise in wages is likely going to make them feel more concerned than they already are.

UK CPIUK CPI. Source: reuters

A rise in consumer inflation (CPI) is normal after a recession – even if it is an uncharacteristically short one like what we saw during the beginning stages of the pandemic. As consumers start to spend more, prices go up. The issue arises when this cycle picks up too much speed, at which point prices rise exponentially and the economy starts to overheat. Even more concerning is when this happens alongside a drop in growth and consumer spending. This is where we are now, and unfortunately, if workers continue to demand more compensation for their work, it is going to be much harder to get out of this situation without risking a recession.

GBP/USD

1.27 Price
+0.020% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0039%
Short position overnight fee -0.0043%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.00013

USD/JPY

151.12 Price
-0.030% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee 0.0085%
Short position overnight fee -0.0167%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.014

GBP/JPY

192.66 Price
-0.030% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee 0.0086%
Short position overnight fee -0.0168%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.033

EUR/USD

1.06 Price
+0.050% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0080%
Short position overnight fee -0.0002%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.00006

For this reason, the UK CPI data will also be closely examined. It will be released on Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., and markets are expecting the monthly reading to have ticked up in September to 0.4% from the 0.3% seen in August. Again, this will put further pressure on the BOE to act forcefully to slow consumer spending, which will increase the odds of a rate hike at the bank’s next meeting on November 2nd.

According to Reuters, markets are now pricing in a 73% chance that the BOE will leave rates unchanged. A stronger-than-expected reading in either of the two data points mentioned above could shift that percentage in the coming days. If so, markets will likely move accordingly, with a higher risk premium assigned to UK assets, meaning GBP could extend the recent pullback and the FTSE 100’s outperformance in equity markets could be jeopardised.

GBP/USD put in a solid effort last week as the US dollar followed yields lower, but the stronger-than-expected US CPI data released on Thursday ended the pair’s 6-day bullish streak. The pullback seems to have lost steam in this new week, with GBP/USD up 0.3% as of Monday midday, but it’s likely that traders will proceed with caution ahead of the data, especially given how energy costs have risen recently and the effect that is expected to have on households and consumer prices.

GBPUSDGBP/USD daily chart. Source: tradingview

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The difference between trading assets and CFDs
The main difference between CFD trading and trading assets, such as commodities and stocks, is that you don’t own the underlying asset when you trade on a CFD.
You can still benefit if the market moves in your favour, or make a loss if it moves against you. However, with traditional trading you enter a contract to exchange the legal ownership of the individual shares or the commodities for money, and you own this until you sell it again.
CFDs are leveraged products, which means that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of the CFD trade in order to open a position. But with traditional trading, you buy the assets for the full amount. In the UK, there is no stamp duty on CFD trading, but there is when you buy stocks, for example.
CFDs attract overnight costs to hold the trades (unless you use 1-1 leverage), which makes them more suited to short-term trading opportunities. Stocks and commodities are more normally bought and held for longer. You might also pay a broker commission or fees when buying and selling assets direct and you’d need somewhere to store them safely.
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