UK Economics Next Brexit bust-up risks adding to inflation The UK government’s plan to use domestic legislation to overwrite parts of the Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol risks creating another headwind for the economy and exacerbating price pressures at a... 16th May 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Dovish sounding MPC may still raise rates to 3.00% The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) struck a more dovish tone today while raising interest rates from 0.75% to a 13-year high of 1.00% and saying that it won’t make a decision until after August on... 5th May 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics 3% is the magic number for interest rates Our new forecast that interest rates will be raised from 0.75% now to a peak of 3.00% next year is more hawkish than the peak priced into the financial markets (2.50%) and the peak expected by the... 27th April 2022 · 5 mins read
UK Economics Spring Fiscal Statement 2022 Checklist We are resending this checklist so clients can have it to hand ahead of today’s Spring Statement. It is designed to help clients keep track of the key economic and public finances forecasts announced... 23rd March 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics MPC becomes less hawkish, but rates may still rise to 2.00% Today’s 25bps hike takes interest rates up to the pre-pandemic and post-Global Financial Crisis high of 0.75% and, although the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sounded a bit less hawkish than it did... 17th March 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics New higher inflation forecasts and lower GDP forecasts In response to the news that the US is considering banning imports of Russian oil, which means that commodity prices will probably be higher for longer, we have raised our CPI inflation forecast and... 7th March 2022 · 6 mins read
UK Economics Flattening gilt yield curve another signal of weaker growth The 10-year/2-year gilt yield curve is closer to inverting than at any point since March 2020, supporting our view that GDP growth will slow this year. And while a yield curve inversion isn’t a good... 7th March 2022 · 3 mins read
UK Economics Recent falls in gilt yields likely to prove short-lived While gilt yields could drop further if the war in Ukraine escalates much further and/or it becomes clear that it is significantly reducing economic activity in the UK, at the moment we think gilt... 2nd March 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Update Russia-Ukraine: Some scenarios for the UK economy As it stands at the moment, we still think that the Russian/Ukraine conflict is more likely to boost inflation in the UK by more than it reduces GDP growth and that the Bank of England will continue... 28th February 2022 · 7 mins read
UK Economics Update Russia/Ukraine generates more upside risk to inflation Today’s grave escalation of the Russia/Ukraine conflict threatens to keep CPI inflation in the UK even further above the 2% target this year and reduce households’ real incomes by even more. The... 24th February 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Interest rates to peak at 2.0% We now think that Bank Rate will rise from 0.50% currently to 1.25% sooner than we previously thought. What’s more, we now expect three more 25 basis point rate rises in 2023, resulting in rates... 9th February 2022 · 7 mins read
UK Economics BoE may hike rates to 1.25% this year despite Sunak’s help While the decisions by the Bank of England to hike interest rates from 0.25% to 0.50% and to start reversing quantitative easing (QE) were both as expected, with four MPC members wanting to raise... 3rd February 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Real wage squeeze unlikely to be a rerun of 2008-14 The looming squeeze on real wages means that the near-term outlook for consumption and GDP has weakened. That said, we don’t expect anything as bad as the squeeze in 2008-14. In fact, real household... 20th January 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Inflation won’t be the fiscal boon many assume While the general perception is that higher inflation is unambiguously good for the public finances, the reality is a bit more nuanced. The Chancellor will almost certainly be gifted with a lower... 12th January 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics Six key calls and three risks for the UK in 2022 Our new forecasts for 2022 envisage CPI inflation rising further than most expect to a peak of 7% and the Bank of England raising interest rates quicker, from 0.25% now to 1.25% by the end of the year... 6th January 2022 · 4 mins read
UK Economics A catch-up on COVID Given the huge surge in cases throughout December, the COVID-19 situation is once again set to be the biggest determinant of the performance of the economy over the first few months of 2022. We aren’t... 5th January 2022 · 4 mins read
