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☆ UK inflation holds steady for September after Bank of England pauses rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — U.K. inflation came in at 6.7% in September, slightly ahead of expectations and unchanged from the previous month. For August, the U.K. consumer price index surprised with a dip to 6.7%, below expectations, which sparked the Bank of England to end a run of 14 straight interest rate hikes. The bank had been hiking rates consistently since December 2021 in a bid to rein in inflation, taking its main policy rate from 0.1% to a 15-year high of 5.25% in August. The market is pricing around a 77% chance that the Bank holds rates steady again at its next meeting on November 2nd. For now, the higher for longer interest rate narrative will continue to persist," he said Wednesday in an emailed note.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Marcus Brookes, Brookes, Hetal Mehta, BoE Organizations: LONDON, Reuters, National Statistics, Chancellor, Bank of, Bank, Quilter Investors, Bank of England's, Bank of England Locations: Canary, London, Bank of England, British, James's

These showed that a rise in fuel prices between August and September put upward pressure on the annual CPI rate, which economists had expected to drop to 6.6%. "Progress in bringing inflation down is proving slow, with the UK generating higher levels of inflation than any other major industrialised nation," said Ian Stewart, chief economist at accountancy firm Deloitte. "The persistence of underlying inflation, and service price pressures, suggests that interest rates are likely to stay close to current levels for much of the next year," he added. Services price inflation - another CPI component the BoE studies - rose to 6.9% in September from 6.8%. British consumer price inflation remains the highest in the Group of Seven advanced nations, with France and Italy the nearest with rates of 5.7% and 5.6% respectively for September.

Persons: Ian Stewart, BoE, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Bernadette Baum, Toby Chopra Organizations: Bank of England, Office, National Statistics, Deloitte, Seven, Thomson Locations: British, August's, Ukraine, France, Italy

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG/LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Bond yields rose on Tuesday and stocks steadied as markets continued to retrace last week's moves to safe-haven assets, focusing on corporate earnings prospects and the resilience of the U.S. economy rather than tensions in the Middle East. Benchmark 10-year bond yields in the U.S. and Germany (Bunds) rose around 5 basis points (bps) on Tuesday having risen 5-8 bps Monday - bond yields move inversely to prices. Israel's shekel remained on the weak side of the 4 per dollar level it softened to for the first time since 2015 on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday arrived in Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping even as the war in Ukraine raged on. If investors do not receive the coupon payment, all of Country Garden's offshore debts will be deemed in default.

Persons: DAX, Kai Pfaffenbach, Banks, BNY, Goldman Sachs, We're, Jorge Garayo, Joe Biden, Israel, Israel's shekel, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, BoE, Gold, Brent, Selena Li, Alun John, Shri Navaratnam, Ed Osmond, Alex Richardson Organizations: Deutsche, REUTERS, Bank of America, Treasury, Bund, Societe Generale, U.S, Israel, Hamas, Iran's, Tuesday, HK, Bank of England, Swiss, Venezuela, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, HONG KONG, U.S, Iran, Gaza, Beijing, Ukraine, Friday's, Washington, Israel, Hong Kong, London

☆ UK regular pay growth slows for first time since January
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Private-sector regular pay - the component looked at most closely by the BoE - saw annual growth slow to 8.0% in the three months to August, from 8.1%. Regular pay, adjusted for CPI inflation, grew by an annual 0.7% in the three months to August. Reuters GraphicsSLUGGISH ECONOMYBank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Monday that fast rates of nominal pay growth stood at odds with most other labour market measures, which have pointed to a slowing economy. The number of job vacancies in the three months to September fell to a two-year low of 988,000, Tuesday's data showed. Unemployment figures and other related labour market data will not be published until Oct. 24, after the ONS said on Friday it needed more time to take account of low response rates.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, BoE, James Smith, Jeremy Hunt, Rishi Sunak, Huw Pill, payrolls, Ashley Webb, Webb, Sachin Ravikumar, William Schomberg, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, LONDON, Bank of England, Britain's, National Statistics, Reuters, U.S, Bank, England's, ING, Private, of England, International Monetary, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain

☆ Morning Bid: Stocks ease in nervous Gaza wait
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Israeli soldiers gather on and around a tank near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 15, 2023. ECB speakers are out in force this week, including Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernández de Cos on Monday, when the euro zone also releases trade data. It will be a busy week for BoE rhetoric as well, starting with the central bank's chief economist, Huw Pill, on Monday. There's lots of important British data, with house prices later today, jobs and wage figures on Tuesday, and CPI on Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Economic Club of New York this Thursday, just before the start of the central bank's blackout period, is probably the most anticipated bit of central bank speak for the week.

Persons: Ronen, Kevin Buckland, Brent, Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Pablo Hernández de Cos, BoE, Huw Pill, Jerome Powell's, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Cos, Edmund Klamann Organizations: REUTERS, Japan's Nikkei, Bank of Spain, U.S . Federal Reserve, Economic, of New, Netflix, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Iran, Asia, Europe, of New York, U.S

☆ BOE Leaves Key Interest Rate At 5.25%
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Paul Hannon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A city worker passes the Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, UK, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. Photo: Jason Alden/Bloomberg NewsThe Bank of England’s policy makers Thursday left their key interest rate unchanged for the second straight meeting, but said they don’t expect to ease policy soon. The decision to hold the rate at 5.25% was backed by six members of the Monetary Policy Committee, while three voted for a rise in the key rate to 5.5%. At their last meeting in September, four members voted for a higher rate. Prior to that decision to hold, the BOE had raised its key rate in 14 straight meetings.

Persons: BOE, Jason Alden Organizations: Bank of England, City of, Bloomberg, The Bank of, Monetary, Committee Locations: City, City of London

☆ UK CFOs lose their appetite for debt after rates climb -Deloitte
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A similar proportion said debt sales were unattractive while equity finance became more popular. "Higher interest rates have flipped a decade-old consensus which was previously in favour of debt finance," Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said. "Finance leaders are preparing for a period of high interest rates with predicted rates falling only slightly over the next year." The Bank of England raised rates 14 times in a row between December 2021 and August this year, before pausing its increases in September. The CFOs quizzed by Deloitte on average expected the BoE to cut Bank Rate to 4.75% in a year's time from 5.25% now.

Persons: Suzanne Plunkett, Ian Stewart, Top BoE, BoE, William Schomberg, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: REUTERS, Finance, Deloitte, Bank of, Thomson Locations: London, Bank of England, Israel

☆ BoE's Bailey says he's puzzled by stubborn pay growth in UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMARRAKECH, Morocco, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Saturday he was puzzled by the continued strength of pay growth in Britain which, unlike other areas of the economy, has not yet responded to the BoE's run of 14 back-to-back interest rate hikes. The increases in borrowing costs were having an impact on employment numbers and in the housing market, Bailey told a panel discussion on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund meetings in Morocco. "I should say what is more puzzling and in a sense we wait to see is the situation on pay and earnings where... the usual transmission mechanism is not yet being demonstrated," he said during the event organised by the Group of 30 consultative body. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi Writing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Andrew Bailey, Bailey, Balazs Koranyi, William Schomberg Organizations: Bank of England, REUTERS, Rights, International Monetary Fund, Group, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Rights MARRAKECH, Morocco

☆ BoE's Bailey says future rate decisions will be 'tight'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey attends a press conference for the Monetary Policy Report August 2023, at the Bank of England in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. Bailey echoed recent comments from other BoE officials who have stressed they are keeping their options open for future rate decisions after the Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 to halt its run of back-to-back rate hikes in September. Only a quarter of economists polled by Reuters late last month thought the MPC would vote to raise Bank Rate again on Nov. 2. "The last mile really does lean heavily on... restrictive policy," Bailey said, adding the economic outlook appeared "very subdued". Britain's potential growth rate - the pace at which the economy can grow without generating excess inflation - was "substantially less" than in the past, something that would continue to weigh on monetary policy, Bailey said.

Persons: Bank of England Andrew Bailey, Alastair Grant, Andrew Bailey, Bailey, BoE, Huw Pill, Ben Broadbent, Balazs Koranyi, Andy Bruce, William Schomberg Organizations: Bank of England, Monetary, Rights, Reuters, Institute of International Finance, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Rights MARRAKECH, Morocco, Marrakech

☆ UK stocks fall after Bailey's hawkish tone on interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Khushi Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The commodity-focussed FTSE 100 (.FTSE) was down 0.1%, while the mid-cap index FTSE 250 (.FTMC) lost 0.5%. The yield on the UK benchmark bond edged higher after Bailey's comments but remained lower for the day at 4.402%. "Although higher dollar and yields would typically weaken gold, the geopolitical concerns are pushing gold higher," said Giles Coghlan, chief market analyst at GCFX. Industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020) also advanced 0.6% following a rise in copper prices. UK wealth manager St James's Place (SJP.L) was pushed by regulators to overhaul fees, with the stock tumbling 13.5% to the bottom of the FTSE 100.

Persons: Toby Melville, Ashmore, Andrew Bailey, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, Giles Coghlan, Coghlan, St James's, Khushi Singh, Sonia Cheema, Sohini Organizations: London Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Bank of England, Mining, Shell, BP, St, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain, James's, Iran, Israel, China, Bengaluru

☆ Take Five: War and peace of mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in August as a surge in gasoline prices boosted receipts at service stations. Bar chart with data from LSEG I/B/E/S show the projected year-over-year growth in Q3 2023 earnings of S&P 500 industries. There have been reports the government is looking to increase its budget deficit to meet this year's 5% growth target. That said, inflation is still over three times the BoE's 2% target and growth isn't exactly stellar.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Kevin Buckland, Lewis Krauskopf, Naomi Rovnick, Karin Strohecker, Amanda Cooper, Goldman Sachs, Johnson, Philip Morris, It's, Banks, Amundi, BoE, it's, Sumanta Sen, Prinz Magtulis, Vineet, Pasit, Jayaram, Mark Potter Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Hamas, Bank of America, Johnson, Netflix, Philip Morris International, Investors, HK, Law, Justice, Reuters, The Bank of England, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Israel, Palestinian, China, Britain, Tokyo, New York, London, LSEG, Beijing, Europe's, Brussels, Europe

☆ Dollar gains after US consumer prices rise more than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The dollar rose sharply on Thursday after U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in September, lifted by an elevated cost of rent that raised the prospect of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates high for some time. The consumer price index increased 0.4% last month, with a 0.6% jump in the cost of shelter accounting for more than half of the rise. The dollar rose more than 1% against sterling, and the Australian and New Zealand dollars. Owners' equivalent rent, a measure of the amount homeowners would pay to rent or would earn from renting their property, rose even though non-official sources show a decline in rental prices. Thursday's CPI release came after Wednesday's mixed report on U.S. producer prices, and minutes from the Fed's September meeting.

Persons: Douglas Porter, Bipan Rai, Thierry Wizman, Wizman, BoE, Wednesday's, Herbert Lash, Alun John, Ankur Banerjee, Emelia Sithole, Mark Potter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Federal Reserve, Labor, BMO Capital Markets, Reuters, New, CIBC Capital Markets, Fed, Bank of England, CPI, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Oakville, Canada, New Zealand, North America, Toronto, New York, London, Bengaluru, Singapore

☆ BoE says it supports FCA move to ban James Staley
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said it supported the decision by Britain's financial regulator, the FCA, fine and ban James "Jes" Staley, the former chief executive of Barclays (BARC.L). "It is imperative that senior managers act with integrity and are open and cooperative with the regulators," the BoE said in a statement. Reporting by William James, editing by Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James, Jes, Staley, BoE, William James, Sarah Young Organizations: Bank of England, FCA, Barclays, Thomson

☆ UK banks see less lending in Q4, expect more defaults: BoE survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

People walk outside the Bank of England in London, Britain, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - British lenders expect to curb the availability of mortgages in the next three months, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday. The BoE's quarterly Credit Conditions Survey also showed lenders thought defaults on secured loans and on credit cards and other loans would increase. Reporting by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Peter Nicholls, William Schomberg Organizations: Bank of England, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

Official data showed economic output expanded by 0.2% in August from July, matching the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. "The UK economy is holding up but remains in a precarious state," said David Bharier, head of research at the British Chambers of Commerce. The data showed Britain's huge services sector grew by a slightly stronger than expected 0.4% in August from July while manufacturing and construction shrank by 0.8% and 0.5%. Investors are putting a chance of less than one in four on the BoE resuming its rate hikes after its next scheduled meeting in November. Britain's economy stood 2.1% bigger than in February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the ONS said.

Persons: Matthew Childs, Sterling, Elizabeth's, BoE, David Bharier, William Schomberg, Andy Bruce, Kate Holton Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of England, Monetary Fund, Chambers of Commerce, European Union, ONS, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Miral

☆ Morning Bid: Inflation test looms for Fed doves
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

For now, the consistent and - for equity investors - very welcome refrain from Fed officials that caution is warranted before further rate rises has drowned out any concerns about data. But just how quickly markets turned at the start of the week shows how quickly they could turn again. Despite the dovish trimmings, the core Fed message remains that rates will rise as far as they have to in order to rein in inflation. Fed regional bank heads Lorie Logan, Susan Collins and Raphael Bostic have the chance to air their views in remarks at separate events today. It's a big day for British data as well, with GDP and industrial production due first thing.

Persons: Kevin Buckland, Lorie Logan, Susan Collins, Raphael Bostic, Huw Pill, Andrew Bailey, BoE, Sam Holmes Organizations: Japan's Nikkei, Hong, Reuters, Bank of England, IMF, Bank, U.S . CPI, Thomson Locations: Asia, Washington, Marrakesh

☆ UK housing market challenging but rate pause offers hope -RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, edged down to -69 after August's sharp drop to -68. Echoing other gauges of British house prices, RICS' latest figure was the weakest since February 2009 and was below the median forecast of -63 in a Reuters poll of economists. Britain's housing market boomed during the coronavirus pandemic as demand for homes with more space surged, but it has been a victim of the BoE's run of 14 interest rate hikes, which began in December 2021. "Although the decision to pause monetary policy tightening a few weeks ago provided a glimmer of relief for the market, interest rates are likely now set to remain on hold for a prolonged period," Parsons said. The weak state of the housing market has hurt companies such as building materials supplier Travis Perkins (TPK.L), which on Wednesday downgraded its annual profit forecast by as much as 27%.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, RICS, Tarrant Parsons, Parsons, Travis Perkins, William Schomberg, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: REUTERS, Bank, Royal Institution, Chartered Surveyors, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Bank of England warns U.S. tech stock valuations may be out of whack
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, January 26, 2023. Valuations for U.S technology stocks may be too high given the current macroeconomic backdrop and spike in rates, according to the Bank of England. "Given the impact of higher interest rates, and uncertainties associated with inflation and growth, some risky asset valuations appear to be stretched," the BoE's financial policy committee said Tuesday. "Stretched risky asset valuations increase the likelihood of a greater correction in prices if downside risks to growth materialise." To be sure, this isn't the first time that a central bank has warned of valuations over the years, but as a general rule, central bankers would rather not offer an opinion on any specific market price.

Persons: BoE, premia, Ben Bernanke, Lehman, Alan Greenspan, Greenspan's, — CNBC's Scott Schnipper Organizations: Bank of England, Microsoft, Nvidia, Lehman Brothers Locations: City, London, Britain, U.S

☆ Amazon UK to spend 170 mln stg on staff pay rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People take part in a rally in support of Amazon workers' on strike, outside the Amazon warehouse, in Coventry, Britain, January 25, 2023. Pay rates will further increase to between 12.30 pounds and 13 pounds an hour from April next year. The increases mean Amazon’s minimum starting pay will have risen by 20% in two years, and 50% since 2018, it said. Amazon UK also said it has started recruiting for more than 15,000 seasonal roles across the UK for the festive period. Last week, supermarket groups Morrisons and Aldi said they were hiring 3,500 and 3,000 extra staff for the Christmas season.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, BoE, James Davey, Kate Holton Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, Amazon, Aldi, Thomson Locations: Coventry, Britain, Bank of England

☆ UK consumers hunker down as fuel prices climb
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A person puts fuel in their car at a filling station, at an ASDA supermarket in Birkenhead, Britain, July 3, 2023. Britain's high inflation rate has slowed but at 6.7% in August it remains more than three times the Bank of England's 2% target. The BRC's like-for-like sales measure - which adjusts for changes in store space - slowed to show growth of 2.8% from 4.3% in August. Seventy percent of consumers surveyed by Barclays said they were finding ways to reduce costs, up slightly from August. Jack Meaning, chief UK economist at Barclays, said the warning signs of wariness among consumers was filtering through into their spending decisions.

Persons: Phil Noble, Helen Dickinson, electricals, Dickinson, BoE, Jack, William Schomberg, James Davey Organizations: REUTERS, Consumers, British Retail Consortium, Bank of England's, Barclays, Rugby, Thomson Locations: Birkenhead, Britain, August's

☆ Revolut strikes share deal with SoftBank to remove barrier to UK licence - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. Revolut and SoftBank had been locked in months of negotiations, with the Japanese investor demanding stiff compensation for giving up its priority class of shares, the report said. The fintech startup can only win a UK banking license if it gets rid of preference shares held by investors including SoftBank. The standoff was one of the reasons Revolut could not immediately get a banking license. The BOE and SoftBank did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the report, while Revolut and the FCA declined to comment.

Persons: Issei Kato, Revolut, SoftBank, The BOE, Akanksha, Maju Samuel Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, Financial Times, Bank of England, Tiger Global Management, Balderton, Ribbit, Financial, Authority, The, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TCV, Bengaluru

☆ UK factory activity slows sharply in September - PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - British manufacturing activity slowed sharply in September, though less steeply than the month before when it shrank at the fastest rate in more than three years, a survey showed on Monday. Output, new orders and employment were all cut back further, amid weaker intakes of new work from both domestic and overseas clients," S&P Global said. The most recent official data showed British manufacturing output fell 0.8% in July although volumes were 3.0% higher than a year earlier. S&P said 55% of manufacturers expected growth over the next 12 months, fewer than in August, while 9% expected a contraction. "Optimism was linked to a hoped-for market recovery, planned growth initiatives and a more stable inflationary environment," S&P said.

Persons: David Milliken, Hugh Lawson Organizations: P, P Global, Manufacturers, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Europe, United States, China, Brazil

☆ Bank of England tells lenders to watch more closely for risky borrowers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A pedestrian walks past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Acquire Licensing Rights企業 Bank of England フォローLONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The Bank of England wrote to lenders on Friday to urge them not to underestimate the risk of loan defaults as higher inflation and increased interest rates hit more vulnerable borrowers. However, in its letter to lenders, the BoE said they needed to look beyond aggregate risks and should identify whether particular types of borrower had specific vulnerabilities. Banks, for example, could look at spending patterns in their customers' current accounts and whether they had fixed-rate mortgages which would soon need to be refinanced at higher rates, the BoE suggested. It said for business lending, banks should not rely on a broad sector-based approach to risk and instead should in some cases consider specific companies' liquidity risks.

Persons: Hollie Adams, BoE, Victoria Saporta, Wilko, Banks, David Milliken, Kylie MacLellan 私 Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, 企業 Bank of England, prudential, Wales Locations: City, City of London, Britain, England

☆ UK business confidence slips in September: Lloyds Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Lloyds Banking Group PLC FollowLONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - British business confidence declined in September as optimism about the economic outlook faded, a survey showed on Friday, adding to signs of a slowdown in the economy. The Lloyds Bank Business Barometer, which surveys around 1,200 companies across the economy, fell to 36% from August's 18-month high of 41%. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said the BoE's decision - taken after the survey was conducted - could underpin business confidence in the coming months. While Lloyds said its gauge of pricing expectations inched higher in September, hiring intentions cooled. The proportion of companies planning to raise salaries also fell, although remained around the average for the year.

Persons: Hann, Ju Ho, Andy Bruce Organizations: Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyds Bank, P Global PMI, Lloyds, Bank of England, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, National Statistics, Thomson

☆ UK home-buyer demand inches up as mortgage rates fall: Zoopla
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - More Britons made enquiries with estate agents about potential house purchases over the past four weeks as mortgage rates started to fall, breaking a downward trend which has been in place since April, property website Zoopla said on Thursday. "Better news on inflation and the end of base rate increases has provided scope for lenders to start reducing mortgage rates which has supported a modest uptick in demand for homes," Zoopla's executive director, Richard Donnell, said. Weekly mortgage data collated by property website Rightmove showed the average interest rate for a mortgage with a two-year fixed rate fell from an average of 6.41% in August to 6.07% this week. This still represents a sharp increase from 4.60% a year ago, when mortgage rates had already begun to climb after bond markets baulked at the then-Prime Minister Liz Truss' budget plans as well as BoE tightening. Mortgage lender Halifax said house prices in August were 4.6% lower than a year earlier, the sharpest drop in 14 years.

Persons: Phil Noble, Zoopla, Richard Donnell, Rightmove, Liz Truss, BoE, David Milliken, William James Our Organizations: REUTERS, Royal Institution, Chartered Surveyors, Thomson Locations: Knutsford, Britain, Halifax

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