Oil prices slip back

Oil prices eased back following the release of Purchasing Managers data in China showing a fall in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI in January. Brent crude is trading below $34 from last week’s high of c.$36

Equity markets gave up ground as oil prices slipped with European indices shedding almost 1% on the day

Sterling strengthened against the euro, trading up to an intra-day high of around 75.5p, helped by data showing an increase in the UK manufacturing PMI to 52.9 in January

Annual inflation in the US rose to 0.6% in December, up from a recent low of 0.2%, while core inflation remained at 1.4%

Fed Vice-Chair Fischer says recent volatility in global financial markets may ‘signal a slowing in the global economy that could affect growth and inflation in the United States’, though he also noted that ‘similar periods of volatility in recent years…have left little permanent imprint on the (US) economy’

Data due today includes Euro area unemployment and the UK construction PMI