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European Economic News Preview: UK Chancellor To Deliver Spring Statement
(RTTNews) - The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver the Spring Statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Markets expect Chancellor Rachel Reeves to tighten the fiscal policy by GBP 10 billion. Reeves is likely to reduce spending plans instead of introducing new tax hikes.
Business lobbies urged Chancellor to take measures to support exports, investment and recruiting as they are battered by higher national insurance and minimum wage bills.
The Spring statement will be accompanied by the forecasts for the economy and public finances. The Office for Budget Responsibilities is likely to downgrade its growth projections and lift its inflation outlook. The announcement is due at around 8.30 AM ET.
Other than UK Spring statement, inflation data from the UK and GDP figures from Spain are the major economic reports due on Wednesday.
At 3.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases UK consumer and producer prices for February. Consumer price inflation is forecast to ease slightly to 2.9 percent from 3.0 percent in January. At 3.45 am ET, France's statistical office INSEE publishes consumer confidence survey results. The consumer sentiment index is forecast to rise slightly to 94 in March from 93 in February.
At 4.00 am ET, Spain's INE is scheduled to issue quarterly GDP data for the fourth quarter. The advance estimates showed that the economy expanded at a steady pace of 0.8 percent.
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