High inflation ‘not sufficient’ to scupper Bank of England interest rate cuts July 14, 2025 June inflation data showing a 3.4 per cent year-on-year rise in prices would not put Bank of England officials off voting for an interest rate cut in August, leading economists have said. A Bloomberg poll of City analysts has predicted that inflation will remain above the Bank’s two per cent target as price growth is [...]
Reeves may need larger fiscal buffer to ‘build credibility’ June 27, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves may need to make her headroom larger than £9.9bn in the autumn to restore credibility and fund policy U-turns, an economics think tank has warned, prompting warnings that “unpopular tax hikes” are coming down the line. Proposed welfare reforms saved the government £4.8bn at the Spring Statement in a last minute rush [...]
ONS appoints Bank of England data exec as new chief June 24, 2025 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has appointed a Bank of England executive as its new director general at a time when the independent body is losing trust over its poor handling of key data. James Benford, who served as the Bank’s chief data officer and oversaw analytics, will join the ONS in early August [...]
Inflation overshoots expectations ahead of Bank of England meeting June 18, 2025 Inflation hit 3.4 per cent in the year to May, official data has revealed, which is set to be the final set of data Bank of England officials receive before coming to an interest rates decision on Thursday. Data published by the Office for National Statistics showed services price growth, which is closely monitored by [...]
UK trade with US falls apart after Trump tariff blitz June 12, 2025 Exports to the US – the country the UK trades with the most with – saw its largest monthly decrease in April since records began, official data has shown. The onset of President Trump’s trade war with some of his closest allies and foes put governments on standby as major forecasters warned the world economy [...]
UK economy shrinks more than expected in blow to Reeves June 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank more than expected in April, official data has shown, suggesting momentum built up in the beginning of this year has already worn away. New figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing a 0.3 per cent contraction come off the back of a strong 0.7 per cent growth in [...]
Unemployment creeps up as firms cut jobs following Reeves tax raid June 10, 2025 The unemployment rate has crept up to 4.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent, official data has revealed, putting Chancellor Reeves’ ambition of growing the UK economy and getting people into work under threat. It is the highest unemployment rate in three years, with the UK economy then recovering from the pandemic. Figures released by [...]
Foreign companies drive £19bn M&A surge as UK firms ‘attractively valued’ June 3, 2025 Takeovers of British firms reached the highest level in nearly three years as several multi-billion pound transactions made by foreign companies pushed up the value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), official data has shown. Inward M&A deals in the first three months of the year exceeded £19bn, nearly four times that seen in the last [...]
UK retail sales boost as Brits enjoy warm weather May 23, 2025 Sales rose for UK retailers last month as warmer weather helped drive stronger demand for food and drink, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said overall retail sales volumes rose by 1.2 per cent in April. This compared with a 0.1 per cent rise in March, which was revised down from [...]
Reeves’ impossible mission to save the public finances – in four charts May 22, 2025 Government borrowing spiked in April, according to official data, in a stark illustration of the difficult fiscal tightrope that the Chancellor Reeves is walking. The £20.2bn in monthly borrowing was steeper than economists’ prediction of £18bn. So, Reeves might have shivered when she heard Keir Starmer tell the House of Commons winter fuel payments would [...]