Housing market looking healthy in latest figures – London Report
EVIDENCE of improvement in the housing market is expected this week when the British Bankers Association releases its mortgage approvals data for May.
The figures, out on Wednesday, are likely to show that approvals for house purchases rose for a fifth consecutive month in May, climbing to a 14-month high of 43,800 from 42,116 in April.
Tomorrow, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is expected to report a pick-up in manufacturing orders in June.
The total orders balance is expected to have improved to plus two per cent in June, after dipping to a seven-month low of minus five per cent in May.
“The outlook currently seems somewhat mixed for manufacturers,” said IHS Global’s chief UK economist, Howard Archer.
“On the domestic demand side, the outlook for consumer goods should remain robust.
“Elevated consumer confidence, markedly improved consumer purchasing power and rising employment should underpin demand for consumer durable goods. Mounting signs of a pick-up in housing market activity is also good news for manufacturers.”
Archer added that manufacturers will also be hoping that now that the General Election is out of the way and political uncertainty is less of a factor, companies will become more prepared to invest, thereby lifting demand for capital goods.
Meanwhile, the CBI Distributive Trades Survey, due out on Thursday, is expected to show healthy retail sales growth in June.
The balance of retailers reporting a year-on-year increase in sales in June is expected to be plus 35 per cent.
A strong June CBI distributive trades survey would reinforce hopes that robust consumer spending can underpin significantly improved GDP growth in the second quarter.
In the corporate calendar, today sees Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings and Polar Capital update the market.
Immunodiagnostic Holdings reports tomorrow, while James Latham and Market Tech will both release figures on Wednesday.
Cohort Group, Costain Group, DS Smith and Photo-Me International will all update the market on Thursday, and Tesco reports on Friday.