On Wednesday the Federal Reserve is likely to repeat that it expects no rise in the fed funds rate until the unemployment rate falls below 6.5 per cent. Friday's figures will show that this won't happen for some time. They are likely to show that the unemployment rate fell by just 0.1 percentage points last month, to 7.5 per cent.
And although Tuesday's numbers will show house prices rising strongly - by more than 10 per cent in the last 12 months - other numbers are likely to point to only weak growth. Thursday's ISM survey will suggest that the manufacturing sector is barely growing, while Wednesday's first estimate of second-quarter GDP could show annualised growth in the quarter of just 0.5 per cent; interpretation of these numbers, however, will be complicated by revisions to historic data which are likely to raise the level of GDP, because of a change in the way investment in intellectual property is measured.
Meanwhile, economists expect the MPC to do nothing at Thursday's meeting. This will, though, be a holding operation; later next month the Bank will give an assessment of whether to adopt clearer guidance about the future of interest rates and whether to adopt the Fed's policy of an "intermediate threshold" for interest rates such as a particular level of unemployment.
Data in the week are unlikely to justify a big policy move. Although Thursday's purchasing managers' survey is likely to show that manufacturing activity is growing nicely, Monday's CBI survey could point to weak retail sales; both surveys, however, have recently been at odds with official data that show strong retail sales and weak manufacturing. What's more, Bank of England data on Monday are likely to show that companies are still paying off debt and raising cash, pointing to a continued reluctance to spend. Personal borrowing and mortgage approvals might, however, show an increase but it is not clear that this is sustainable.
Elsewhere, figures might point to a weak world economy. Purchasing managers are likely to report that manufacturing is barely growing in China and is still shrinking in the eurozone, albeit less so than in recent months. More worryingly, Wednesday's numbers are likely to show another rise in eurozone unemployment, with 19.5m people - 12.3 per cent of the workforce - out of work.
