Inflation is expected to have fallen back in October, providing some relief to household, businesses and the Chancellor ahead of the Budget.
Economists believe price growth peaked at 3.8% in September and that it fell back to 3.5% last month, in line with the Bank of Englahd forecast.
Should the forecast be confirmed it would also heighten the chances of a pre-Christmas cut in interest rates.
Economists Robert Wood and Elliott Jordan-Doak at Pantheon Macroeconomics are expecting inflation to come in at 3.5% while Deutsche Bank chief UK economist Sanjay Raja believes it will fall only to 3.7%.
Food prices have also recorded their first monthly decrease since May last year. Even energy bills are easing. While Ofgem raised the energy price cap by 2% in October, whichy compares with a 9.6% rise in the same month last year.
Wood Group shareholders will vote this week on the 30p per share offer from Dubai-based Sidara, valuing the Aberdeen-based energy services company at £216 million.
The long-running talks will come to a head after Wood negotiated a number of obstacles and conditions, including agreements with is lenders to avoid breaching loan deals and publishing its delayed results.
Telecoms testing company Calnex Solutions has returned to profit and has entered the new financial year with an increased order backlog and growing engagement across key sectors.
Financial performance improved notably in H2, driven by a higher proportion of high-value sales and increasing demand across cloud computing, defence and satellite markets.
Analysts will be looking for further evidence of this return to growth when the Linlithgow-based company reports half-year figures on Tuesday.
Speaking to Daily Business in May, CEO Tommy Cook he said new markets were opening up, not least in data centres, and there had been a positive response to new product development.
“Our strategy of getting into new markets is working,” he said.
DIARY
Tuesday 18 November
- Full-year results from Greencore
- First-half results from Calnex Solutions
- Trading statement from Crest Nicholson
Wednesday 19 November
- Full-year results from Sage
- First-half results from Severn Trent, British Land, Jet2
- Trading statement from Smiths Group
- UK inflation
Thursday 20 November
- Full-year results from Grainger
- First-half results from Mitie
- Trading statements from JD Sports Fashion and Breedon
Friday 21 November
- First-half results from Babcock International
- GfK UK consumer confidence
Saturday 22 to Sunday 23 November
- G20 meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa
#Inflation #dip #Wood #takeover #vote #Calnex #upbeat #Daily #Business