European shares were higher at the open as investors eyed US inflation data later in the day, interest rate decisions this week while German inflation decelerated from a 70 year high.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.12% at 0830 GMT, with major regional bourses edging ahead.
The German consumer price index rose by 10% year-on-year in November, shrinking by 0.5% from the previous month, in line with forecasts. On an EU-harmonised basis, annual inflation was 11.3% while there was no monthly change.
In the UK, official dats showed the number of people unemployed ticked higher in October, as real term wages fell.
The jobless rate rose 0.1 percentage point in the three months to October, to 3.7%. Growth for both average total pay – which includes bonuses – and regular pay, which excludes them, was 6.1% over the three months, the strongest increase outside of the pandemic period.
However, once adjusted for inflation, total and regular pay both fell in real terms by 2.7% year-on-year. The ONS said the fall was among the largest since comparable records began in 2001.
Average regular pay growth for the private sector was 6.9%, and 2.7% for the public sector.
Later this week, the Fed, European Central Bank and the Bank of England are all expected to raise rates by 50 basis points, rather than the aggressive 75 point hikes seen earlier in the year.
