LONDON (AFX) - There's a lot of data for economists to get their teeth into over this week, though the outlook for interest rates is unlikely to change too much given the uncertainties in the global economy. Economists will be more focused on the British Retail Consortium retail sales monitor on Monday evening ahead of producer prices earlier in the day. "A weak reading here would go some way further to confirming a consumer slowdown," said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec. This would clearly cheer the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which is hoping that a slowdown in consumer spending will kick an interest rate hike into touch for the foreseable future. Wednesday's minutes of the last MPC meeting, where rates were held at 4 pct, are likely to echo the recent Inflation Report, which at face value was more sanguine about the prospects for inflation as well as consumer spending. Tuesday's retail price inflation data is expected to show price pressures remaining weak, though base effects from a weak reading last year will probably cause the year-on-year to edge up. Economists anticipate RPIX, the government's preferred measure of inflation, in that it strips out mortgage interest payments, to rise slightly to 1.8 pct from 1.5 pct in June, still within the 2.5 pct target. "Such a reading would doubtless lead to a big sigh of relief at the Bank of England, because if inflation falls below 1.5 pct then the governor will be forced to to write an open letter to the Chancellor explaining why inflation has undershot so much," said Schroder Salomon Smith Barney economist Michael Saunders. Inflation is expected to edge higher over the coming months as base effects, partly associated with last year's foot-and-mouth crisis, become less helpful. The BoE expects inflation to tick up to between 2.0-2.25 pct by the end of the year. Meanwhile, unemployment is expected to rise in July, in line with recent weaker survey data. The claimant count is expected to rise 5,000 in July. John Butler, economist at HSBC, said the public sector will continue to provide support to the labour market, but stressed that it is too early to start expecting a new upward trend in private sector employment as companies are attempting to rebuild their profitability. Investec's Shaw also noted that the manufacturing unit wage costs will look poor, primarily because of the 5.3 pct slide in manufacturing output in June.