CITY traders will have further opportunity to gauge the state of the UK economy next week as another clutch of blue-chip companies post interim results.

HSBC's interim pre-tax profits on Monday should see a slight fall to £3.53bn, from £3.66bn last year.

After cutting back capacity and seeing a fall in passenger numbers, British Airways will need to show an upwards trend in yields and prices when it reports its first-quarter figures on Monday.

Oil giant BP is expected to report another set of bumper profits when it posts second-quarter figures on Tuesday.

Industrial gases firm BOC's exposure to the troubled electronics industry has been the subject of much scrutiny. Wednesday's third quarter results will be no exception as the group is tipped to report profits of £113m, against £117.6m last time.

l Companies reporting next week:

MONDAY: Interims: British Airways (Q1), HSBC, Inchcape, Rok Property Solutions, Ultra Electronics.

TUESDAY: Interims: BP (Q2), Dmatek, Amersham, Royal Bank of Scotland.

WEDNESDAY: Interims: Rotork.

THURSDAY: No results.

FRIDAY: No results.