Retail sales rise as shoppers reap “noflation” in February March 26, 2015 Retail sales beat expectations as low prices encouraged people onto high streets across the country in February, figures out today show. Sales on the high street rose 5.7 per cent annually according the Office for National Statistics. It marked the 23rd consecutive month of year-on-year growth, the longest winning-streak since May 2008. Retail sales grew 0.7 [...]
Supermarket price war and drops in oil prices drag UK inflation down to zero March 24, 2015 Hard-pressed households gained a reprieve in the past year – prices held flat in the 12 months to February, official figures showed yesterday. Economists now believe deflation is just around the corner, as falling fuel and food prices keep easing the pressure on family budgets. It is the first time inflation has fallen to zero [...]
FTSE hits a high but slips back despite UK inflation data – London Report March 24, 2015 ANOTHER day, another all-time high was the call yesterday for Britain’s top share index – although it did slip back at the close – and record low UK inflation data kept investors confident over the market’s longer-term prospects. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose as much as 0.4 per cent to a record intraday high [...]
Interactive: 33 charts showing how UK inflation compares to every inflation rate in every EU country March 24, 2015 Today was the day the UK hit the threshold: inflation fell to 0 per cent, its lowest since the current measure of inflation began in 1989. More on this story: UK inflation falls to its lowest since records began The fall was caused by dropping energy and food prices, fueled by the global oil-price slump and [...]
Why businesses and employees are cheering low inflation March 24, 2015 Low inflation will benefit businesses which are likely to pass gains onto employees through wage hikes, businesses have said. James Sproule, chief economist at the Institute of Directors said: "We welcome the news that inflation has once again fallen. It is particularly encouraging that this has been driven by falling fuel costs. This is putting [...]
Higher fuel prices push US inflation to its first rise since October March 24, 2015 Inflation has started to the pick up in the United States, after fuel prices rose for the time since June last year, adding to broader gains in other sectors. Figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed prices rose by 0.2 per cent month-on-month basis, reversing a 0.7 per cent tumble in January. The annual [...]
Surprise as UK inflation falls to zero for first time since current records began in 1989 March 24, 2015 Inflation fell to zero in February for the first time since current the current records began in 1989, moving Britain closer to deflation, official statistics showed today. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed prices didn't increase at all in February compared with the same time a year ago. The figure came [...]
Britain likely to reach a record low for inflation – London Report March 23, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation is likely to have fallen to a new record low of 0.2 per cent in February, moving Britain closer to deflation. Official figures out tomorrow look set to show the fall in the index, which comes after the previous low of 0.3 per cent in January. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, [...]
Food and oil prices drag the UK towards CPI deflation March 22, 2015 Could this be the week the UK officially goes into deflation? Office for National Statistics figures out this Tuesday are expected to show that UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) prices dropped 0.1 per cent in February, after hitting record lows of 0.3 per cent last month. Behind the possible entry into deflation is a drop [...]
Budget 2015: George Osborne’s plans depend on strong growth – let’s hope it actually materialises March 18, 2015 George Osborne used the opportunity of the last Budget before the election to set out his manifesto. The Budget was based on “growth and investment”, he claimed, and he promised an end to austerity towards the end of the next Parliament, defined entirely as a promise to start expanding government spending again by 2019. The [...]