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Brexit economy: Moments of truth ahead
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Brexit economy: Moments of truth ahead
Aug 16, 2016 4:46 AM

Catastrophe or success? The first signs of how the UK's economy is faring post-Brexit vote are emerging.

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Starting with inflation data on Tuesday, this will be the week when a raft of economic data indicate how the UK's economy fared in July, the first month after it voted for Brexit. On Wednesday, we will find out unemployment data for July, followed by retail sales on Thursday and public finance data on Friday.

The inflation figures come as a growing number of economists are warning about the danger of complacency by the Bank of England (BOE)'s monetary policy committee (MPC). The MPC currently projects that inflation will take until the end of 2017 to e

The inflation figures come as a growing number of economists are warning about the danger of complacency by the Bank of England (BOE)'s monetary policy committee (MPC). The MPC currently projects that inflation will take until the end of 2017 to exceed its 2 percent target, despite a dramatic decline in the value of sterling since the referendum.

There has been a 12 percent trade-weighted decline in sterling since the referendum, according to Deutsche Bank calculations, which will have made imported goods more expensive for UK consumers. There is "early evidence that sterling's Brexit-driven depreciation already is pushing up inflation," according to Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The economy was a key battleground in the UK's referendum, which delivered a surprise vote to leave the European Union despite grave warnings about the potential consequences for UK citizens' wallets.

Retail sales on Wednesday is the most important data point to watch for this week, according to currency analysts at Rabobank. There are a much wider range of forecasts for the sales, with economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting anything from a 1 percent fall to a 1.2 percent rise in sales.

"The breath of this range is illustrative of the uncertainty that is shrouding the post referendum economy," according to Rabobank analysis.

Dissatisfaction with the labor market is believed to have been one of the factors which swung the result towards a leave vote, so unemployment data, which are predicted to show a 4.9 percent unemployment rate, will also be interesting for UK-watchers.

The BOE unveiled a radical new package of measures designed to combat the expected post-referendum slump earlier this month. A key part of the plan, buying up long-dated UK bonds (gilts), has already met with some problems. Last week, the BOE couldn't find enough sellers of long-dated gilts to meet its targets, possibly because many of these assets are held by pension funds and insurers.

Pension funds in particular seem eager to hold tight to their gilt stocks, as a safe haven back-up for their investments in a low interest rate world. A second attempt to buy gilts with more than 15 years maturity will be closely watched on Tuesday. If the BOE's efforts aren't viewed as a success, the pressure on the UK government to unveil its own major shift in policy will grow even greater.

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