Inflation
Inflation has significant implications for the UK jewellery trade, affecting everything from raw material costs to consumer spending habits. For jewellers, suppliers, and manufacturers, understanding how inflation influences pricing, margins, and operational decisions is critical to staying resilient in a shifting economic climate. Jewellery Focus provides expert coverage on inflation trends, market analysis, and insights into strategies trade professionals are adopting to mitigate its impact across the supply chain and retail sector.
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Jan- 2025 -7 JanuaryEconomy
BRC warns of 2025 falling sales volume despite December sales growth
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned of possible falling sales volume in 2025 despite the modest increase in total retail sales experienced in December 2024. UK total retail sales in December 2024 increased by 3.2% year on year, against a growth of 1.9% in December 2023, according to new…
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Dec- 2024 -19 DecemberEconomy
BoE holds interest rates at 4.75%
The Bank of England (BoE) has voted to hold interest rates at 4.75%, following a recent hike in both inflation and wage growth. At its meeting this week, the bank’s monetary policy committee voted by a majority of 6–3 to maintain the current rate. Three members voted to reduce interest…
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Nov- 2024 -7 NovemberNews
Bank of England cuts interest rates to 4.75%
The Bank of England has cut interest rates for the second time this year, with rates now cut to 4.75%. The bank voted by a majority of 8–1 to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.75%. One member preferred to maintain the previous rate of 5%. It had…
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Oct- 2024 -30 OctoberNews
Budget: Increases to employers’ NI and minimum wage
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has increased Employers’ National Insurance contributions in a bid to help raise as much as £40bn in taxes, pledging to also boost long-term growth and “mark an end to short term-ism” as part of Labour’s first budget since it came into power. Employers’ National Insurance contributions…
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3 OctoberDesigners
Bulgari UK falls to £3.2m loss
Bulgari UK has revealed that it posted a loss of £3.2m for the year ended 31 December 2023 a 193% drop from the £3.5m profit it posted in the previous year. Alongside this, the luxury goods company earned £54.6m in UK sales last year, compared with £60.3m in 2022, a…
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Sep- 2024 -19 SeptemberNews
BoE holds interest rates at 5%
The Bank of England (BoE) has decided to hold interest rates at 5% this month, having lowered them for the first time in four years in August. The bank voted by a majority of 8-1 to keep the rate the same in a bid to help “sustain growth and employment”.…
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Aug- 2024 -16 AugustNews
UK gold investors ‘buy the dip’ amid global markets’ latest storm
Bullion trading via The Royal Mint’s website trebled (336%) after global financial markets plummeted on Monday (5 August 2024), the Royal Mint revealed. The number of investors transacting increased by 53%, compared with this year’s daily average, with precious metals buying outpacing selling by a ratio of 5:1 Additionally, 1oz…
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14 AugustEconomy
Inflation rises to 2.2% due to energy prices
Inflation increased for the first time this year in July, as energy prices fell less than they did a year ago, according to the latest figures from the ONS. Prices rose 2.2% in July, up from 2% the previous month, but came below analysts previous estimates of 2.3%. Although monthly…
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1 AugustNews
BoE cuts interest rates for first time in 4 years
The Bank of England (BoE) has cut interest rates for the first time in four years, with the rate falling to 5%. The bank voted by a majority of 5–4 to reduce the rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5%, marking the first fall in inflation since March 2020, where…
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Jul- 2024 -9 JulyEconomy
Cold weather chills consumer spending in June
UK Total retail sales decreased by 0.2% year on year in June, against an increase of 4.9% in June 2023, as cold weather negatively affected spending particularly on “weather sensitive categories”. The latest figures from BRC’s and KPMG’s retail sales monitor revealed that food sales increased 1.1% year-on-year over the…
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