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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Feb- 2023 -2 FebruaryRetailers
BoE raises interest rates to 4%
The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that interest rates will be raised by 0.5%, bringing the base rate of interest to 4%, the highest level in 14 years. The increase, which is the tenth consecutive increase, was decided after the bankโs Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority…
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Jan- 2023 -25 JanuaryNews
Footfall improves throughout 2022 but remains 14% behind 2019
UK footfall improved throughout 2022, but there still remains a โsignificantโ 14.2% gap to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, according to Springboardโs annual retail review for 2022. However, the figure does mark โa steady improvementโ, from -20.8% below 2019 in January 2022 to -10.9% in December 2022. The uplift from 2021, however,…
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23 JanuaryEconomy
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 โsignificantโ quarter-on-quarter improvement in sentiment towards levels of debt (+3.8…
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19 JanuaryEconomy
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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10 JanuaryRetailers
Retail sales rise 6.9% over Christmas
The BRC has reported that sales on a total basis increased by 6.9% in December 2022, compared with the prior increase of 2.1% in December 2021. These figures are said to be above both the three-month average growth of 4.4% and the 12-month average growth of 3.1%. Meanwhile, the UKโs…
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Dec- 2022 -15 DecemberEconomy
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 Bankโs MPC voted by a majority of 6-3 to increase rates by…
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Nov- 2022 -17 NovemberNews
Chancellor freezes tax thresholds in Autumn statement
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced a raft of measures to help โstabiliseโ the UK economy and reduce inflation, with tax cuts and spending cuts totalling ยฃ55bn in the Autumn statement. As part of the new measures, Hunt confirmed that tax as a percentage of GDP will rise by over 1%…
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Oct- 2022 -11 OctoberRetailers
Retail sales rise 2.2% in September
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) Sales Monitor reports that, on a total basis, sales increased by 2.2% in September, against an increase of 0.6% in September 2021. According to the BRC, the UK retail sales also increased 1.8% on a like-for-like basis from September 2021, when they had reportedly decreased…
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6 OctoberEconomy
Footfall slows to +6.8% in September
UK footfall slowed for the third consecutive month and now sits just 6.8% compared with the same period in 202, as the rising cost of living cuts consumer visits according to the latest data from Springboard. Springboard revealed that superficially Septemberโs results suggest that footfall has largely been unaffected by…
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Sep- 2022 -23 SeptemberEconomy
Consumer confidence plummets to record low in September
UK consumer confidence has plummeted to a record low of -49% in September, the lowest since 1974, according to the latest research from GfK. It comes amid the cost of living crisis as households struggle with soaring energy bills and inflation. Four measures were down in comparison to the 19…
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