Benedict Acton-Bond, economist, Moody’s Analytics said:

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Here's the raw data:

Core inflation — a measure which strips out volatile factors like energy and food prices — was slightly less hot than expected. The overall CPI for the Eurozone is still higher than the ECB's 2% target, however.

Net mortgage approvals (that is, approvals net of cancellations) for house purchases, which is an indicator of future borrowing, increased by 2,200 to 68,300 in October, the highest level since August 2022 (72,200). Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased by £0.9bn to £3.4bn in October, following a decrease in net borrowing of £300m in September.

The ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages decreased by 15 basis points, to 4.61% in October, the lowest since May 2023. Over the same period, the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages increased from 3.74% in September to 3.78% in October, a further series high.

Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Best Invest, said:

Oil prices were mixed on Friday, with markets reacting to renewed supply risks as Israel and Hezbollah exchanged accusations of ceasefire violations, while investors awaited key decisions from an OPEC+ meeting delayed until next week.

Brent crude futures rose 0.2%, trading at $72.46 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) (CL=F) was muted at $68.77 per barrel at the time of writing. On a weekly basis, Brent futures were down 3.3%, and WTI was trading 3.8% lower.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated on Thursday, as Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah traded accusations of violating a ceasefire agreement that had been implemented just a day earlier. While the truce initially alleviated concerns about a broader conflict disrupting oil supply, the renewed hostilities raised new concerns among traders.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Some initial Black Friday data is in from Nationwide. They say:

• By 9am this morning, Nationwide customers have made 1.66 million transactions — 21% higher than a typical Friday.

• The number of purchases is 11% higher than on Black Friday 2023 and 21% higher than on the same day in 2022.

• There has been a 33% increase in transactions being alerted as potentially fraudulent when compared to a normal Friday, while the number of potential scams being reported to us is up 17%.

While markets were closed in the US yesterday for the Thanksgiving break, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will be open later on, but only until 1pm ET. US bond markets will close at 2pm ET.

The next full-day market closure for the US, bar weekends, is Christmas Day.

Bitcoin ticked higher on Friday but the $100,000 mark still eluded it, as global markets take a pause following a rally spurred on by Donald Trump's election victory.

The so-called "Trump trades" boosted bitcoin about 30% in the past month, as crypto buyers look to potentially relaxed regulation around digital currency. Trump has also previously spoken about creating a national bitcoin reserve.

At 8.30am in London, bitcoin traded around $95,800.

LaToya Harding writes:

The number of UK house sales is expected to increase next year, along a rise in property prices, property platform Zoopla has predicted.

According to its latest house price index, the number of sales is expected to rise 5% over 2025 to 1.15 million, with the sales market already on track for 1.1 million completions this year. This is 10% higher than in 2023.

The residential property firm said postponed home moves, an ageing population, rising running costs and changing working patterns continue to impact people's decision to move home.

Meanwhile, UK house prices are projected to increase by 2.5% in 2025 and 7.5% over the next three years.

House prices in the Midlands, northern England, Scotland and Wales are likely to outperform the UK average, while home prices in southern England will lag behind, the forecast said.

Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here, closing out the week with the markets news du jour.

We are light on corporate updates today, but there is new mortgage approvals data from the Bank of England on the slate. There are also monetary policy committee meeting notes and the financial stability report from Threadneedle Street. European inflation data is also due today.

Let's get to it.