Thanks for joining me. New experimental data from the Office for National Statistics indicates that unemployment may have been as low as 3.5pc in the three months to May.
The data, which statistician said is “very early” and “only indicative”, would put the percentage of jobseekers at the same levels as the lows of the 1970s.
5 things to start your day
1) Selfridges shareholder Signa files for insolvency | Questions over department store ownership as cash crunch topples Rene Benko’s empire
2) Ottolenghi forced to cut restaurant opening hours amid chef shortage | Chain admits struggles hiring talented staff in wake of Covid and Brexit
3) Inside the scramble to save Saga from sinking under a mountain of debt | Chief executive Euan Sutherland’s departure comes at a crucial juncture for the business
4) Tom Stevenson: With a turbulent year ahead, investors can’t afford to sit on the fence | We indulge in scenario analysis without the benefit of a crystal ball
5) Why Sunak’s national security tsar Oliver Dowden may be the man to decide The Telegraph’s fate | Tory MPs are pressing the Deputy Prime Minister to intervene in Abu Dhabi’s takeover of this newspaper
What happened overnight
Asian shares were mostly higher ahead of an update on US consumer inflation and a meeting of the Opec+ oil producers in Vienna.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed up 0.5pc, or 165.67 points, to end at 33,486.89, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.4pc, or 10.43 points, to 2,374.93.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 0.2pc at 17,024.43. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.2pc to 3,026.43.
South Korea’s Kospi was flat at 2,520.14. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.4pc to 7,062.90. In Bangkok, the SET fell 0.4pc. India’s Sensex lost 0.3pc and Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.1pc higher.
The members of OPEC+, whose oil income props up their economies, are due today to try to forge a consensus on production cuts after postponing a meeting originally set for Sunday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading American businesses rose 0.04pc on Thursday to 35,430.42, while broader S&P 500 lost 0.1pc to close at 4,550.58. The Nasdaq Composite index, which heavily features technology companies, dropped 0.2pc to 14,258.49.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds was down six basis points to 4.278pc, from 4.336pc late on Tuesday.
