Bank of England to hike rates 0.25% following Fed and ECB

By Greg Smith on Wednesday, May 10th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Bank of England to hike 0.25% on stronger economy This week, the focus shifts to the Bank of England (BoE) rate decision tomorrow, following the Fed and ECB updates last week. This meeting will be followed by a press conference with Governor Bailey.  Markets expect a 0.25% hike to 4.5%, following a similar […]


Local election results as we wait for Bank of England

By Greg Smith on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Local elections as we wait for the Bank of England Whilst the other major central banks have meetings this week, we will have to wait until next Thursday to hear from the Bank of England.  The main data that will be of interest this week is the PMIs.  The readings for manufacturing and […]


UK Inflation to fall below 10% with energy price drops

By Greg Smith on Monday, April 17th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Inflation to fall below 10% with energy price drops This week, the focus moves back to data on employment and inflation.  The March price data are forecast to show a decline in inflation, with energy prices falling this year.  This significant fall will be offset by higher food prices and wage costs.  Markets […]


Bank of England hike 25bp – will act if inflation persists

By Greg Smith on Tuesday, March 28th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Bank of England hike 0.25%, ready to act if inflation persists Last week, as expected, the Bank of England increased rates by 0.25% to 4.25%.  This was widely anticipated particularly after the jump higher in inflation to 10.4%. This latest hike is the smallest since June last year, which supports the expectations that […]


Bank of England decision likely to be tight amid banking concerns

By Greg Smith on Monday, March 20th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Bank of England decision likely to be tight amid banking concerns The focus this week will be on interest rates in the US and the UK.  Before the banking concerns, the markets expected the Bank of England (BoE) to raise rates.  The decision on Thursday and may now be a close call, given […]


UK budget as SVB bank is bought by HSBC

By Greg Smith on Monday, March 13th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Budget to provide support to the UK economy The big news expected this week is Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s first Budget on Wednesday. Government borrowing is expected to be lower due to a stronger tax take and lower wholesale energy prices.  If this is the case and borrowing is around £30bn lower than predicted, […]


UK GDP to show a steady increase in February

By Greg Smith on Monday, March 6th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – UK GDP to show a steady increase The main data we will be watching is an expected rebound in January GDP.  In December, UK GDP recorded a 0.5% drop, with expectations of a 0.3% increase for January, mainly led by positive services, with less strike activity.  Construction output is likely to be higher, […]


Energy cap falls, but won’t bring inflation lower until summer

By Greg Smith on Monday, February 27th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Energy cap falls, but won’t bring inflation lower until summer The expectations for further central bank rate hikes increased last week, with data suggesting economic activity is in better shape.  The PMI reading for February showed a strong increase back to growth at 53.3.  The manufacturing measure also returned to expansion.  Consumer confidence […]


UK Inflation to fall again slowly, but remain above 10%

By Greg Smith on Monday, February 13th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Inflation to fall again, slowly This week, all eyes will be on the inflation figures which are expected to fall for a third month in a row.  It may still stay above 10% with forecasts of 10.1%, though this is showing a slower decline than in the US and Europe.  Core inflation will […]


BoE, ECB (0.5%), and Fed (0.25%) Hike Rates with more expected

By Greg Smith on Tuesday, February 7th, 2023

in Blog, Market Insights

GBP – Bank of England raises rates 0.5% Last week, we had a busy week of central bank updates and rate hikes.  The message from all of the central banks was that inflation has probably peaked providing another lift to market sentiment. That has reinforced market expectations that interest rates are close to or at […]


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