The FTSE 100 is trading in positive territory, currently standing at around 10,760 points. A series of encouraging macroeconomic releases has provided support for UK equities on Thursday.
The trade deficit came in at £18bn, smaller than feared. Industrial production and the services sector also delivered better-than-expected figures. Most notably, monthly gross domestic product (GDP) surprised on the upside, expanding by 0.1% against expectations of a 0.1% contraction. On an annual basis, UK GDP growth now stands at 2.1%, driven particularly by IT services.
Today's economic calendar remains busy, with eurozone industrial production, US labour market figures, producer prices and retail sales data still to come. The Empire State Manufacturing Index will also be released. Following yesterday's US consumer inflation figures, September's producer price data will be firmly in focus. The figures should provide further insight into the extent to which businesses are passing rising costs on to consumers or absorbing some of the pressure themselves.
Producer prices could come in slightly above expectations, potentially rising by around 0.7%. Yesterday's consumer inflation figures already indicated that price pressures were spreading beyond food and energy through second-round effects. This broadening of inflationary pressures could also become visible in today's producer price figures, reinforcing concerns that inflation is becoming increasingly entrenched across the US economy.
