Economy

Consumer confidence improves during December

Consumer confidence improved two points during December to -22 as sentiment improved ahead of Christmas. All five measures were up in comparison to last month’s announcement. The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last year is up two points at -14; this is 14 points better than December…

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Chancellor cuts National Insurance to 10% alongside NLW rise

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced a series of measures to help boost the UK economy as part of his Autumn Budget including slashing National Insurance by 2% and freezing business rates for retail and hospitality. As part of the new measures, Hunt revealed that National Insurance will be cut from…

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Lower energy prices sees inflation drop to 4.6%

UK Inflation slowed sharply to 4.6% in October, beating economists expectations, thanks to a marked reduction in energy prices. According to the latest figures of the Office of National Statistics, housing and household services prices fell by 0.3% between September and October 2023, compared with a rise of 3.4% between…

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Retail sales growth slows in July amid heavy rain

The UK’s total retail sales increased by 1.5% in the four weeks to 29 July, against the 2.3% growth experienced in the same month last year. This was below the three-month average growth of 3.5% and the 12-month average growth of 3.9%, according to BRC data. This lacklustre growth in…

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Hallmarking drops 35.9% in March

The total number of items hallmarked by all four UK Assay Offices fell 35.9% in March 2023 compared with the same period in 2022, according to data from Birmingham Assay Office. The total number of items hallmarked in March was 591,874, around 320,000 less than the same month in 2022.…

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Consumer confidence improves for first time in 15 months

UK consumer confidence in the final quarter of 2022 improved by half (+0.6) a percentage point, according to the latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker, marking the end of a 15-month period of consecutive decline. Deloitte said overall confidence was boosted by “significant” quarter-on-quarter improvement in sentiment towards levels of debt (+3.8…

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UK inflation dips for second consecutive month

UK inflation fell slightly for the second consecutive month from 10.7% to 10.5% in December as easing fuel costs were offset by the rising price of food which meant the figure remained close to its previous 40-year high. The latest figures, from The Office For National Statistics (ONS), show that…

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UK GDP beats expectations as it grows 0.1% in Nov

The UK economy unexpectedly grew by 0.1% in November as the World Cup helped boost restaurant and pub sales, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It comes as analysts had predicted a fall of 0.3% for the month and has raised hopes that the…

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Bank of England raises interest rates by 0.5% to 3.5%

The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that interest rates will be raised by 0.5%, bringing the base rate of interest to 3.5%, the highest level in 14 years. At a meeting held on 14 December 2022, the Bank’s MPC voted by a majority of 6-3 to increase rates by…

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UK economy returns to growth in October

The UK economy returned to growth in October following the period of national mourning after the death of the Queen, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). UK GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.5% in October 2022, following a fall of 0.6% in…

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