Economy

BoE raises interest rates to 0.75%

The Bank of England has raised interest rates back to the pre-pandemic level of 0.75% as it tries to mitigate the effect of the rising costs of living and the impact that the conflict in Ukraine is having on the global economy.  The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted with a…

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BoE raises interest rates to 0.5%

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised interest rates for the second time in three months to 0.5%, up from 0.25% previously. The BoE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) confirmed it voted by a majority of 5-4 to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 0.5%. Interestingly, it revealed those…

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Energy price cap to rise 54% from April

Retail bosses are braced for a spending squeeze after it was revealed the energy price cap is set to increase by 54% from 1 April amid a “record” increase in global gas prices, in a move that is set to affect approximately 22 million customers. Energy regulator Ofgem announced that…

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Shop price inflation surges to 1.5%

Shop Price annual inflation accelerated to 1.5% in January, up from 0.8% in December, according to latest research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). This is taken from the period covering 1 – 7 January 2022 and reveals it is above the 12-month average decrease of 0.6 and six-month average…

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Inflation hits 30-year high

Inflation reached 5.4% in December, its highest rate since CPIH stood at 5.1% in May 1992, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It revealed the consumer prices index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose 4.8% in the 12 months to December 2021, up…

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UK economy surpassed pre-Covid levels in November

Gross domestic product (GDP) has surpassed its pre-pandemic level for the first time as it grew by 0.9% in November 2021, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. In the latest release, output in consumer-facing services grew by 0.8%, mainly because of a 1.4% increase in retail…

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Retail sales return to growth in October

October Retail sales volumes rose by 0.8%, according to the latest data by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Non-food stores also saw a rise in sales volumes by 4.2% during the period, with second-hand stores, toy stores and sports equipment stores growing by 6.2%. Meanwhile, clothing stores sales volumes…

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September retail sales fall 0.2%, ONS reveals

September retail sales volumes fell by 0.2% and by 2.6% when compared with the same period in 2020, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) results. Non-food stores reported a fall of 1.4% in sales volumes in September 2021, which was mainly due to a 9.3% decrease in…

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Consumer confidence falls amid ongoing supply chain issues

UK consumer confidence has fallen back five points in September, largely attributed to both shop supply shortages and rising prices, according to new research by GfK. GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index decreased by five points to 13 in September, with all measures down in comparison to August’s announcement. The data showed…

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UK economic growth slows, ONS reveals

UK economic growth slowed down in July, growing by 0.1% compared with 1% in June 2021, according to the latest data by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). With the spread of the Delta variant and the “pingdemic” taking its hold in July, gross domestic product (GDP) still remains 2.1%…

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