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Friday Recap

European stock markets closed lower on Friday following bilateral meetings on economy. A Chinese delegation talked to its United States counterparts in Washington to try to reach a trade deal amid US President Donald Trump's doubts that an agreement can be achieved. In Sochi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed various issues, including their countries' economic partnership, and agreed further dialogue is needed to resolve the remaining issues. The European Union launched the process to stop EU companies from complying with US sanctions against Iran. Meanwhile, German producer prices were up 2% in April, and Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Plc posted its earnings report.

The FTSE 100 closed 0.15% lower. Glencore Plc dropped 4.29% on news it could be facing a probe into its dealings in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DAX ended the session 0.35% in the red. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG lost 5.07%. The CAC 40 finished the week down 0.13%. French company Bouygues Telecom declined 2%.

This week

In the UK, The week includes a particular wealth of data releases which will provide clues as to whether the Bank of England will remain on course to hike interest rates this year. The Bank back-tracked from a May rate rise after data showed the UK economy performing worse than expected at the start of the year and inflation falling faster than anticipated.

In Europe, The ECB will meanwhile be keenly eyeing the Eurozone flash PMI to gauge growth momentum and price trends. The survey data provided an advance indication of the slowdown in the single currency area earlier this year, and the May data will provide important steers on second quarter growth.

On the Other side of the globe, the minutes from the latest FOMC minutes will be parsed in every detail for indication of the timing of the next US rate hike. Moreover, the upturn in manufacturing growth at the start of the second quarter, and May's data will give a good indication of overall GDP growth. However, perhaps more important will be the survey's price gauges, which have acted as a reliable advance indication of inflation trends, and which hit a seven-year high in April.