Last week, the Office for National Statistics reported a 2.9 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index during May, up from 2.7 percent in April.

Last week brought news of some improvements in the UK’s trade position (falling £2.1 billion in April) and a very minor modification in European monetary policy. Oh, and a surprising election result!

Although our thoughts are with those affected by the awful events both in London & Manchester, our economic focus this week is on Chinese manufacturing and US jobs.

This week, we look at German business sentiment and US Federal Reserve minutes.

The popular measure of inflation – the consumer price index – rose 2.7 percent year on year in April, up from 2.3 percent in March.

Claire McCallum and Teresa Lyde have achieved Fellowship of the London Personal Finance Society (PFS)!

As expected, Emmanuel Macron won the run off and will be the next French president. Markets had already factored in this result so we see no immediate impact following this result.

As expected, Emmanuel Macron won the run off and will be the next French president. Markets had already factored in this result so we see no immediate impact following this result.

Last week brought news of slow growth in the opening quarter of the year over in the US. Slower growth is likely down to temporary factors, including our old friend ‘residual seasonality’. Conversely, slower growth in the UK is likely less to be temporary.

Last week saw UK inflation hold steady at 2.3 percent, but that could be because Easter fell in April this year. Unemployment held steady too with the 3 months to February averaging 4.7 percent.