UK consumer confidence rises more than forecast, despite lingering inflation

Japan's consumer prices

Japan's consumer prices picked up slightly in October, reinforcing investors' views that the Bank of Japan will have to roll back monetary stimulus sooner rather than later. Headline inflation accelerated to 3.3% in October, year-over-year (YoY), from 3% the previous month. The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food costs, rose 2.9% year-on-year in October after 2.8% the previous month, just below the 3% expected by economists. The narrower gauge of inflation, or core-core index, which strips away fresh food and fuel costs, rose 4% in the year to October, slowing from a 4.2% gain in September but staying at or above 4% for a seventh straight month.

The Bank of Japan

With inflationary pressures appearing to be more stubborn than expected, speculation is growing that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may soon have to ditch its negative interest rate policy. The Bank of Japan has brushed aside such speculation, saying that the cost pressures are largely driven by higher global commodity prices and the weaker JPY.

British consumer confidence index

British consumers have turned more optimistic about the outlook for the British consumers have turned more optimistic about the outlook for the economy, according to market research firm GfK. The headline consumer confidence index was stronger than anticipated in November, increasing to -24 from October's three-month low of -30 and above economists' forecast of -28. A six-point increase is the biggest month-on-month improvement of the past seven months.

The Bank of England

In an interview given to the Financial Times, Bank of England (BOE) chief economist Huw Pill says the central bank has to resist the temptation "to declare victory and move on." Mr. Pill says the UK monetary policy has entered a difficult phase. The UK is showing signs of weakening activity, but at 4.6%, inflation remains stubbornly high, well above the BOE 2% target. "There's slower growth in activity and employment, says Mr Pill, but because [he] thinks that is more supply-driven rather than demand-driven, the weakening of activity is not as associated with the easing of inflationary pressures.

The German economy

As expected, the German economy shrank by 0.1% in Q3 quarter on quarter (QoQ). At 9 a.m., Germany's IF business climate is expected to improve to 87.5 in December from 86.9 in the previous month. Over in the US, S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data might offer some hints about the economic situation in the country. Manufacturing PMI is expected to drop from 50.0 to 49.8, and services PMI is seen falling to 50.4 from 50.6.

NVIDIA

Watch out for NVIDIA shares at the open, all-sessions at 9 a.m. UK today. The chipmaker has told customers in China that it is delaying the launch of a new artificial intelligence chip. Designed to comply with U.S. export rules, the launch of the H20 chip, the most powerful of three China-focused chips, will be delayed until the first quarter of next year, according to Reuters, citing two sources.

Earlier this week, investors were taken aback by the group's sales expectations in China when the group published its quarterly earnings. Prior to this delay, Nvidia was already set to take a hit from the vastly expanded U.S. export controls on what the company could sell to China. Sales of the affected chips made up nearly a quarter of Nvidia's data centre sales in the past few quarters.