A key international report on the state of Britain's economy and an update of the country's unemployment picture will occupy the minds of investors here next week, alongside banking reforms. London's FTSE 100 index fell 2.7 percent over the past week to finish at 5,828.67 points on Friday. It had dropped 0.18 percent the previous week.
On Wednesday, the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) publishes its annual review on the British economy, which has endured a faltering recovery since escaping recession in late 2009.
Reports by the Paris-based group, a policy and research body for the governments of 33 leading economies in the world, is closely-watched by markets.
This week, the Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low 0.50 percent, where they have now stood for two years, as it opted against lifting borrowing costs to fight high inflation.
Ahead of the BoE decision, official data revealed that the British economy is improving compared with the final quarter of 2010. Manufacturing output expanded in January at the fastest annual rate for 16 years, jumping 6.8 percent compared with the same month one year earlier.
And the nation's trade-in-goods deficit narrowed by more than expected in January as exports hit a record high. It comes after Britain shrank by a worse-than-expected 0.6 percent in the final quarter of 2010, as the coalition government's austerity measures begin to bite. Next Friday, market attention will also be on the banks, as European regulators announce details of the latest 'stress tests' they plan to carry out on lenders.
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