Economic outlook: UK focus on the Budget The Budget on Wednesday overshadows all other economic events in the UK this week and the recent move by rating agency Fitch to put Britain's triple A rating on negative watch will be on the minds of many investors as Britain's finance minister delivers his speech. "The Treasury has already commented that Fitch's move is a reminder of why it is essential Britain sticks to its plans to deal with its debts," Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said. So it heaps further pressure on the chancellor to stick to his fiscal austerity plans and to resist any temptation for unfunded giveaways. It is estimated, however, that there are some funds in the coffers after public sector borrowing undershot targets for the 2011-12 financial year. Investors will be keen for the chancellor to further trim the nation's debt pile and help maintain the country's top-notch credit rating. Most analysts, however, believe a credit rating downgrade would not materially damage the attractiveness of UK gilts and therefore will not lead to significantly higher borrowing costs. Therefore, the public will be looking for tax concessions, particularly as they are being hit severely in the wallet by high fuel prices and low wage growth. James Knightley at ING said: "Household incomes have failed to keep pace with the cost of living for four consecutive years and with credit remaining constrained, households have had to run down savings to finance extra spending. Rising oil prices will only make matters worse. Also in the UK on Wednesday, the Bank of England publishes the minutes from its monetary policy meeting earlier this month, where it kept rates on hold at 0.5 per cent and maintained its asset purchases at £325bn. Most expect the MPC's decision to pause was unanimous. Business activity data, courtesy of eurozone purchasing managers, offer the latest details on the health of the region's economy. The data are expected to show that in Germany, both manufacturing and services indices improved in March, remaining above the 50 level that indicates economic expansion, as the success of the Greek debt swap helped ease some concerns in bond markets. The broader eurozone data are expected to show that manufacturing improved slightly, while services dipped. Both indices, however, were expected to remain below 50, indicating economic contraction. Karen Ward at HSBC, said: "Sharp divergences persist across the region: modest growth in Germany contrasts with steep declines in the periphery. This looks set to continue as austerity measures in the periphery are depressing domestic demand. In the US this week, the data are all about housing. Tuesday's housing starts for February are expected to show the pace of new home building is picking up, while February existing home sales, on Wednesday, are seen continuing the pace of growth seen over the past four months. In the UK Tuesday's consumer price index is expected to record that inflation continued to ease in February. Annual CPI is expected to ease to 3.2 per cent from 3.4 per cent in January.