Bank of England slashes interest rates by 25bps to lowest level in 18 months

First MPC meeting of the year The Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee has cut interest rates by a quarter point, from 4.75% to 4.5%. Seven MPC members voted in favour of the interest rate cut, while two preferred a 50bps snip. The Bank argued that over the past two years, there has been a “substantial progress on disinflation …

UK inflation lowers to 2.5% in December

Down from 2.6% in November The UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) dropped to 2.5% in December, below FactSet’s consensus of 2.8% for the month. According to data from the Office for National Statistics today (15 January), the downward trend was driven by restaurants and hotels, with the latter recording a 1.9% decline in prices over the month, as opposed to …

UK inflation jumps to eight-month high of 2.6%

The rise means it is unlikely the Bank of England will cut rates later this week, analysts say. UK inflation jumped to 2.6% in November, its highest level in eight months. The rise in the Consumer Price Index, from 2.3% in the previous month, was due to higher petrol and clothing prices, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). …

Inflation rises to 2.3% as energy bills grow

Jump in bills drives slight increase in CPI growth in October, with Bank likely to stick to cautious approach to rate cuts. UK inflation rose slightly more than expected to 2.3% in October on the back of a jump in energy prices.  Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth had slowed to 1.7% the previous month, raising some hopes of quicker than …

State Pension to increase by £460 a year, but most pensioners will still be worse off

With most pensioners paying tax, and more than half next year’s rise simply keeping pace with inflation, most pensioners will still be worse off overall in real terms if they lose the winter fuel payment. Last week’s labour market data shows that average earnings in the three months to July 2024 rose by 4.0% – likely the figure used to …

Inflation falls to Bank of England’s target of 2%

Inflation has returned to target for the first time in almost three years. CPI inflation fell to the Bank of England’s 2% target in May, down from 2.3% in the previous month, the latest ONS figures show. CPI last hit 2% in July 2021, almost three years ago, and has fallen from its peak of 11.1% in October 2022. On …