By Greg Smith on Wednesday, September 27th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England hold rates at 5.25%, to watch data Last week, the major surprise was that the Bank of England committee voted not to hike by 5-4. Governor Bailey was the casting vote and decided on no rate hike. This follows 14 consecutive rate hikes that started at the end of 2021. […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, September 19th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England likely to hike rates by 0.25% to 5.5% The announcement by the Bank of England will be the key focus in the UK. Most people expect the BoE to hike rates by a further 0.25% to 5.50%. This will be the 15th meeting in a row that rates have increased. […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, September 12th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Falling inflation expectations and weaker labour market Inflation expectations have fallen in the Bank of England’s DMP business survey. There was dovish testimony last week from Governor Bailey that a marked fall in inflation is likely this year. Mr Bailey suggested that monetary policy is probably near the top of the cycle, similar […]
By Greg Smith on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Governor Bailey testifies; Pill sees restrictive rates for some time The outlook for UK interest rates remains in focus, with expectations growing that we are reaching a peak. Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill, speaking in Cape Town, suggested that he would like to see a Table Mountain profile. His suggestion is […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, August 29th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Focus remains on rates, with a weakening economy The focus across markets continues to be whether the global economy can avoid a serious downturn and achieve a soft(ish) landing. Following on from this, interest rates continue to be the number one issue. Rates are probably close to a peak across all major markets, […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, July 18th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Inflation to fall overall though Core to rise further The June CPI report will be closely watched this week. It is expected to show inflation falling to 8.3%. This would be a welcome fall from 8.7% in May, mainly due to a fall in energy prices. On the flip side, core inflation will […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, July 11th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Pay growth hits 7.3% as BoE Bailey speaks The labour market data today was an important update on inflationary pressures. Regular pay growth rose by more than expected at 7.3% in the three months to May. Employment growth fell and unemployment rose from 3.8% to 4%, though this may be due to economically […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, July 3rd, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Sterling weakens despite rate expectations Following the rate hike by the Bank of England, markets anticipate Bank Rate at 6% by the year-end. Despite the expectations for rates staying higher for longer, the pound has weakened over the last couple of weeks. This is a reflection of concerns about the outlook for economic […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – BoE hike 0.5% to 5%, with expectations of 6% this year Markets were fully expecting a rise in interest rates from the Bank of England last week. However, with the higher-than-expected inflation data and wage growth, we saw the BoE hike rates by 0.5% instead of 0.25%. It is likely that the committee […]
By Greg Smith on Wednesday, June 21st, 2023
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Sterling hits 14-month high as BoE expected to hike again This week, attention will be on sterling with the Bank of England rate decision on Thursday. Pretty much everyone expects a further 0.25% rate hike to 4.75%. That will make it 13 in a row. The BoE are still clearly concerned about persistent […]