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There were no data releases from the UK on Friday. Markets are still being influenced by UK job figures and recent BoE stanzas regarding monetary policy. UK labour market figures showing a meagre rise in wages and the bleak assessment of the outlook for the UK from the Office for Budget Responsibility as revealed by the Chancellor George Osborne are kept in mind by policymakers. Most economists now predict interest rates will not rise until 2017, although some have suggested the Bank could instead cut them further at some point amid worsening economic conditions at home and in the rest of the world as markets continue to be in turbulence and oil price to fall.

In the US session Consumer Sentiment figures were released. Consumer confidence declined in the first half of March as lower-income Americans grew more concerned about prospects for the U.S. economy and higher gasoline prices. The University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index fell to a five-month low of 90 from to 91.7 in February. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 92.2. The group’s measures of year-ahead and longer -term inflation expectations picked up.

 

There will be no data releases from the UK on Monday. In the US session Existing Home Sales figures are scheduled for a release. Analysts are predicting decrease to 5.32 million.

 

Figures to watch:

 

Existing Home Sales (Monday 16:00)