UK Price Gains Contrast With Forecasts

Data published by the UK Office for National Statistics on Tuesday showed that consumer prices inched upward during November, with the headline annualized CPI figure climbing to 3.10%. Aside from beating estimates of 3.00% for the 12-month period, the figure marks the fastest pace of price growth since early 2012. The core CPI number, which strips away more volatile measures of inflation like energy and food, remained on hold at 2.70% but is still well above the 2.00% targeted by the Bank of England. Each development contrasts sharply with projections made by the Central Bank indicating that the heightened price growth would gradually fade. Furthermore, it raises the prospect of an additional rate hike to cool inflation which continues to outpace wage growth and erode consumer purchasing power. After ending the prior session lower, GBPUSD is reversing higher, erasing most of Tuesday’s losses as the pair trends near 1.3335.

In another positive sign for the Japanese economy, core machinery orders managed to advance during the month of October, improving on both a monthly and annualized basis. Core machinery orders, which reflect capital expenditures and business investment, rose by 5.00% month over month through the end of October, snapping back from the steep -8.10% contraction reported in September. On an annualized basis, the core figure, which strips away energy generation equipment and ship purchases, managed to climb back into positive territory and notch a 2.30% increase compared to the consensus forecast for a -2.80% contraction. Although the figure is generally very unstable, it heightens the likelihood that Japan will experience an 8th-straight quarterly growth increase, marking the longest expansionary period in years. The reaction to the data was a strengthening in the Yen before USDJPY rebounded back above 113.400.