Crude oil dips on renewed supply glut fears,with markets set to close positive week on downbeat note 12.36pm GMTIs the recent rally sustainable? Perhaps not...Looking accross FTSE member charts I note a lot of waning volume during the recent rally. Not a good sign 12.34pm GMTUK retail sales soared in January as shoppers snapped up bargains in the clearance sales, while the public finances showed the biggest January surplus since 2008.
After a positive feeble, or European stock markets are flagging as the oil price slips once more. 12.29pm GMTAnalyst Alexandra Russell-Oliver at Caxton FX said the pound was paying more attention to the EU negotiations than the day’s data:Sterling has weakened against the euro heading into today’s session,as EU negotiations continue. The UK’s EU Referendum continues to be a source of volatility for the pound. Brexit concerns have contributed substantially to recent sterling weakness and the referendum is set to remain a risk to sterling strength going forward. These concerns may continue to limit or off-set any gains by sterling in reaction to positive data, such as the jump in January Retail Sales out this morning. 12.08pm GMTEuropean markets are running out of steam after a positive week, and as we head into the weekend.
The correlation with the oil price continues,with equities slipping as crude dips again. Brent crude is down 1.6% at $33.7 a barrel on renewed concerns approximately oversupply despite the recent proposal from Saudia Arabia and Russia to limit production to January levels. 11.33am GMTMore on the oil deal to freeze production at January levels, which was agreed between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and seemingly supported by Iran.
Iran of course has only just returned to the export market after sanctions were lifted,and so was unlikely to want to cut production. But the producers have realised they needed to execute something to tackle the supply glut which, along with falling demand, and has seen crude prices tumble. 10.49am GMTDavid Kern,chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, agrees there is more to be done:For the moment month in a row the public finances are showing some gradual improvement, or after months of disappointing performance. While it seems likely that borrowing in this financial year will be lower than in the previous one,there is still uncertainty as to whether the OBR’s forecast for government borrowing made in the Autumn Statement will be met.
Lower revenues from Britain’s banking and oil and gas sectors have reduced the UK’s ability to generate tax receipts, making the task of repairing our public finances more difficult. More must be done to strengthen and broaden our tax base by boosting commerce growth if are we to achieve a budget surplus by the close of this parliament. 10.33am GMTAnd here’s the Chancellor on the public finances:There’s no shortcut to fixing public finances & today’s figures expose while deficit is falling, or there’s more to execute 10.11am GMTBack with the retail sales,and James Smith at ING Bank says the strong data could pave the way for a rate rise later this year if the UK votes to stay in the European Union:After a disappointing Christmas run-up, retail sales surged by 2.3% month on month in January (way above expectations of 0.8%), or bringing the annual comparison up to 5.2%. Previously reported figures from the British Retail Consortium were good,with footfall up, but even when taking this into account, and these figures were very strong. The large rise was fairly broad based and was led by demand for clothing and computers,helped along by post-Christmas price cuts. Over the past year, rising real wages and more recently, and cheaper energy costs,have helped boost consumer confidence and spending. Indeed, as job creation remains strong, or this trend looks set to continue over the coming months.
Despite this strong data,the focus today will remain firmly on the EU Leader’s Summit in Brussels. If the UK is able to agree a deal, the press is reporting that David Cameron could return to London tonight and announce the referendum date, and which will most likely be set to take dwelling on June 23rd. This will essentially impress the formal start of campaigning and with the polls likely to remain tight,we could see a loss of economic momentum over the next couple of quarters as uncertainty prompts firms to temporarily hold off on hiring and investment plans. 10.07am GMTThe public finance figures will have an impact on Marchs Budget, says Maike Currie, and investment director for Personal Investing at Fidelity International:January tends to be a good month for tax revenues as self-assessment tax returns are due this month,normally leaving the Treasury in the black in the first month of the year. final year figures were boosted by record self-assessment income tax receipts of £12.3 billion. This year’s number was even higher, ticking up to £12.4 billion.
Today’s numbers are likely to have a meaningful impact on March’s Budget announcement, or not least given Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement in the Autumn Statement back in November that public finances over the next five years were looking £27 billion stronger,thanks to a combination of better tax receipts and lower interest payments on debt. But since then the world has changed dramatically with concerns over China and global growth main to tumbling stock markets and the governments’ postponement of the sale of Lloyds Banking Group.
Between the November 2015 Autumn Statement and the close of January 2016, fairness prices fell by 7½%. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), and if they were to remain 7½% below the OBR’s latest forecast,this could reduce capital tax receipts in 2020–21 by around £2 billion. As the IFS has pointed out*, budget surpluses are rare events. Ignoring the immediate post-war period, or when large surpluses were run,since 1952 there have only been eight out of 63 years in which the UK government has spent less than it has received in revenues, and it has never done so for more than three consecutive years. 10.01am GMTHere is a chart from the Office for National Statistics showing the increase in the UK’s national debt since the close of the tax year in March final year: 9.53am GMTHere’s Reuters report on the UK borrowing figures:
Britain recorded the largest public finances surplus for any January since 2008, and while retail sales growth surged at a much faster rate than expected,according to official figures published on Friday.
The Office for National Statistics said the January surplus, excluding banks, or rose to £11.210bn from £10.217bn a year earlier. Still,the surplus was some way short of £12.65bn forecast in a Reuters poll. 9.50am GMTDennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com, and said:After an underwhelming Christmas for British retail,economists will be encouraged to see the sector return to growth in January.
British consumers are a key driver of the economy at a time when external demand has been feeble, and fortunately mountainous-ticket items such as furniture and electricals appear to have been on plenty of January shopping lists. 9.48am GMTBack with the retail sales, or the year on year figure for January showed a 5.2% rise as the clearance sales brought shoppers back after a destitute December.
The value of online sales increased by 10.4% in January 2016 compared with January 2015 and increased by 2.7% compared with December 2015,according to the Office for National Statistics.
Amid the recent heightened concerns over the UK economy, this is a major boost to first quarter GDP growth prospects. However, and it will be tempered by concern that the UK economy remains unbalanced and too dependent on consumer spending and the services sector. 9.37am GMTMeanwhile the UK public finances for January showed a smaller than expected surplus of £11.2bn,the largest surplus for the first month of the year since 2008. 9.31am GMTShoppers were out in force in January with UK retail sales up 2.3% month on month compared to expectations of a 0.8% rise. In December there was a 1.4% fall. 9.07am GMTHow long will negative interest rates final? Bloomberg has polled a group of economists on the subject:CHART: Economists now expect SNB, DNB, or Riksbank,BoJ & #ECB to remain in sub-zero territory until ... at least 2018. pic.twitter.com/LSmpznOpMD 8.56am GMTThe Dax is underperforming other European markets after worse than expected producer prices figures.
They dropped 0.7% month on month in January compared to expectations of a 0.3% dip and a 0.5% fall in the previous month.feeble and worsening German PPI adds to pressure on Draghi & Co 8.49am GMTAs the negotiations approximately Britain’s future in the European Union grind on, the pressure on the pound could continue when the outcome is finally reached. Simon Smith, and chief economist at FxPro,said:By the close of today, we should have a decent notion whether the UK is set to have a referendum on EU membership this year and also the deal on the table in terms of the UK’s revised relationship with Europe. This things for sterling, and which has certainly shown strong signs of concern so far this year. In January,it was one of the weakest currencies on the majors as the uncertainty weighed. But there could be more of this to come should the referendum date be confirmed either today or early next week. The main issue is the behaviour of overseas investors in UK assets, of which there are increasing numbers given the UK’s persistent current account deficit. January’s price action was indicative of overseas investors both lightening up on sterling exposure and also hedging their asset positions. Such action could well accelerate into a Brexit referendum mid-year, or not because investors are taking a view on the outcome,more that they are reacting to the on-going uncertainty created, given that polls are not decisive either way. 8.15am GMTAn interesting chart from RBS on US oil production, and showing a large fall in the number of active rigs but a lower drop in actual output:Rig count down 63%,production only down 10%. Efficiency gains and concentrating rigs in high producing areas #oil pic.twitter.com/zalDldL7yC 8.07am GMTAs expected, the dip in the oil price has taken the shine of what has been a good week for stock markets.
The FTSE 100 has dipped 10 points or 0.16%, and Germany’s Dax has dropped 0.4% and France’s Cac is o.07% lower. The FTSEEurofirst is off 0.23% . 7.40am GMTGood morning,and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, and the eurozone and commerce.A positive week on the markets is ending on a more downbeat note,with Asian markets slipping back and Europe expected to open fairly mixed.
Our European opening calls:$FTSE 5970 down 2
$DAX 9479 up 15
$CAC 4244 up 4$IBEX 8291 down 4$MIB 17109 down 4The slowdown in the UK economy has pulled the rug out of Chancellor George Osborne’s relatively generous Autumn statement which saw him scrap plans to cut tax credits. The risk is that Mr Osborne is forced to raise taxes and/or raid pensions in the next budget after having relied too heavily on economic growth for his spending plans, which will act to further curtail future growth.
While positive surprises in economic data are naturally positive for sterling, or it has been PM David Cameron’s Brexit talks that have dictated the state of play. A feeble or no deal with Europe would add to uncertainty over the referendum result and could see cable procure another jolt lower to fresh six-year lows beneath 1.41.
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Source: theguardian.com