UK Economy

Energy price-cap increase sees inflation pick up to 2.9% in July

July’s inflation increased to 2.9%, matching the latest consensus. While expected increases to energy prices were the driving factor, the results were still mildly hawkish in our view. For...

Another dovish labour market update for the UK

As we expected, this morning’s labour market update was again dovish. Private sector wage growth continues to track below the Bank of England’s (BoE) estimate for what would be...

UK data likely to show ongoing disinflation in June and July

A busy week ahead for macroeconomic data releases includes a number of updates for the UK, Ireland and the global economy. We expect ongoing disinflation will remain evident for the UK...

Another strong H1 for UK GDP, but a weaker H2 is again likely

UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew strongly in H1, with business investment and manufacturing the standout results in Q2. However, strong H1 growth has been quite typical in recent...

Energy prices help inflation to moderate further in June

Headline inflation moderated to 2.6% for the UK in June, well below 3.1% last forecast by the Bank of England (BoE). Lower energy prices benefitted from last month’s ceasefire, though...

Revisions imply downside risks to 2026 UK GDP growth

This morning’s UK GDP revisions show an unchanged pace of quarterly growth in Q1 2026, but downward revisions to Q3 and Q4 2025 mean a lower annual pace of 0.9% to begin this year....

Bank Rate held at 3.75% with little update to forward guidance

Despite this week’s deal between Iran and the US, rate setters at the Bank of England (BoE) are content to retain a wait-and-see outlook before committing firmly to any change in...

Another dovish inflation result in May undershoots forecasts

May’s undershoot for UK inflation supports our view early last month that the Bank of England (BoE) should not increase Bank Rate this year. Relative to its latest (April) projection,...

April inflation hits our forecast for another dovish surprise

April’s inflation fell to 2.8%, below consensus and matching our forecast. Core inflation also declined to 2.5%, with services inflation down to 3.2%. The results follow yesterday’s (May...

UK growth picked up in Q1 after Budget-driven weakness in Q4

The UK economy was stronger than expected in March, and after some downward revision to February’s result, Q1 growth was in line with consensus. This resilience is encouraging despite...