Key events
Introduction: UK-India trade talks reportedly intensify as minister heads to Jaipur
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
We kick off with news that UK trade minister Kemi Badenoch is heading to India today, where she is expected to intensify talks over a post-Brexit trade deal with her local counterparts.
Badenoch is heading to Jaipur, where G20 trade and investment ministers will be gathering for talks on Thursday and Friday. But reports from the FT (£) and BBC suggest that the UK trade minister will use it as an opportunity to try iron out “some quite significant issues” to the trade deal, which – if its successful – would be a significant feather in Tory ministers’ caps post-Brexit
It is hoped that an agreement could slash costly tariffs on UK exports, including cars and whisky. Meanwhile, India is looking for a deal that would help improve access for its own manufactured goods and services, as well as work visas.
However, both news outlets suggest it’s unlikely that a deal will be struck before prime minister Rishi Sunak attends the G20 Summit on 9-10 September in New Delhi, where he is expected to hold talks with his counterpart Narendra Modi.
The UK Department for Business and Trade said in a statement:
The UK and India are committed to working towards the best deal possible for both sides. We’ve made good progress in closing chapters, and are now laser-focused on goods, services and investment.
While we cannot comment on ongoing negotiations, we are clear that we will only sign when we have a deal that is fair, balanced and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy.
Otherwise, we’re expected a swathe of PMI readings from France, Germany, the Eurozone, UK and US, which will give us a sense of how the manufacturing and services industries fared in August.
However, analysts at Investec are not very optimistic:
We suspect that the direction of travel will still be in a downward direction, and importantly, that services are continuing to suffer from the malaise evident in the manufacturing sector
The agenda
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8:15am BST: French flash services & manufacturing PMI (Aug)
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8:30am BST: German flash services & manufacturing PMI (Aug)
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9am BST: Eurozone flash services & manufacturing PMI (Aug)
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9:30am BST: UK flash services & manufacturing PMI (Aug)
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2:45pm BST: US flash services & manufacturing PMI (Aug)
