Very little economic data out of the UK this week, with the Nationwide House Price Index the only real topic of discussion. Year on year, we saw the first increase in the last 12 months, rising 1.2%.

Despite the half term holidays there has been enough to keep eyes on this week. In the UK we saw the release of the GfK Consumer Confidence data for February.

After a quiet week on the data front last week, this week has proved anything but. In the UK we have heard about the jobs market, inflation, growth, and retail sales.

After the excitement of the US jobs data last Friday, where 353,000 jobs were added, way above the consensus forecast of 180,000, this week has been very quiet on the economic data front.

It was the Bank of England’s turn this week to vote on interest rates and, in line with consensus forecast, they voted to leave the base rate unchanged at 5.25%.

Eyes were on US economic growth this week, with advanced figures released for the fourth quarter of 2023. Whilst the rate of growth was lower than that seen in the third quarter, it came in above consensus forecast.