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☆ UK economy returns to growth in May, beating expectations as British pound hits four-month high
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the primary central business district CBD of London. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City is also colloquially known as the Square Mile. LONDON — The U.K. economy grew by 0.4% in May, flash figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed on Thursday, with the British pound jumping to a four-month high against the U.S. dollar after the announcement. The British economy exited a shallow recession in the first quarter of the year, then flatlined in April. Goldman Sachs last week upgraded its growth forecast for the U.K. following left-of-center Labour's thumping victory in the country's general election.

Persons: Sterling, Keir Starmer, Goldman Sachs, Ashley Webb, Price, BOE Organizations: Office, National Statistics, U.S, Gross, Labour Party, Capital, Bank of England's, Bank of England, European Central Bank Locations: London, United Kingdom, The City, British, U.K

☆ Britain's inflation rate could be about to drop below the Bank of England's 2% target
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLONDON — U.K. inflation could be about to hit a major milestone, with some forecasting that a sharp fall in the April print will take the headline rate below the Bank of England's 2% target. That would represent a plunge from the current level of 3.2% and could "make or break" a June interest rate cut, economists say. Ashley Webb, U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said that if the headline rate does fall below 2% in April, as he expects, it would be "momentous." "This will be crucial in determining whether the first interest rate cut from 5.25% will happen in June (as we expect) or in August. We think inflation will fall further, perhaps even to 1.0% later this year," Webb said in a Friday note.

Persons: Ashley Webb, What's, Webb, —, BOE Governor Andrew Bailey, BOE, Ben Broadbent, James Smith, ING's Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Bank of England's, Capital Economics, Bank of England, European Central Bank, ING Locations: Kingston, London, U.K

☆ 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

☆ UK wage growth matches record high, keeping BoE under pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The labour market became less tight in May and there are some signs of momentum in wage growth slowing a bit," Ashley Webb, an economist with Capital Economics, said. "But with wage growth still well above the levels consistent with the 2% inflation target, this won't ease the Bank of England's inflation fears significantly." The BoE is monitoring pay growth closely as it assesses how much inflationary pressure remains in Britain's economy even after its 13 back-to-back interest rate increases. "But it always has taken a little time for changes in labour market slack to influence wage growth and some leading indicators remain encouraging." Annual pay growth including bonuses sped up to 6.9%, the fastest on record excluding the coronavirus pandemic period when government job subsidies distorted the data, the ONS said.

Persons: Sterling, Ashley Webb, BoE, Andrew Bailey, Samuel Tombs, William Schomberg, Sachin Ravikumar, Kate Holton, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, of England, Sterling, Bank of England, National Statistics, Capital Economics, of, Pantheon, MPC, Thomson

☆ UK economic growth unrevised at 0.1% in first quarter of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Britain's economy grew 0.1% in the first quarter of this year, unrevised from an initial estimate published last month, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Friday. "The final Q1 2023 GDP data confirms that the economy steered clear of a recession at the start of 2023. Friday's figures showed that households' real disposable income was 0.8% smaller than the previous quarter, reflecting higher costs for electricity, gas and food. There were also signs that people were saving less in response to the increased cost of living, as the savings ratio fell to 8.7% in the first quarter from 9.4% in the quarter before, its lowest level since the second quarter of 2022 though well above its pre-pandemic average. Stripping out volatile trade in precious metals, the ONS's preferred measure, the underlying current account deficit narrowed to 2.6% of GDP from 3.3% of GDP in the final quarter of 2022.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Ashley Webb, David Milliken, Andy Bruce, Sarah Young Organizations: REUTERS, Office, National Statistics, ONS, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Germany, Ukraine

☆ Squeezed UK households tap into savings at record pace
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Unsecured lending to consumers rose by 1.144 billion pounds ($1.45 billion) in net terms last month after a 1.513 billion-pound increase in April. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to net consumer credit lending of 1.5 billion pounds in May. Thursday's data pointed to mixed signals from the housing market, with mortgage rates for new borrowers soaring past 6% this month in many cases. The value of net mortgage lending contracted in May by 92 million pounds, following a 1.466 billion-pound fall in April. It marked the first back-to-back falls in net mortgage lending since records began in 1986.

Persons: BoE, Ashley Webb, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, Paul Heywood, Andy Bruce, William Schomberg, Emelia Organizations: Bank of England, Savings and Investment, Consumer, Capital Economics, Reuters, Equifax, Thomson

The regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.45% at 8:20 a.m. London time, with all sectors bar utilities — down 0.4% — posting gains. Mining stocks shook off recent negativity to climb 1.14%, while tech stocks rose 1.54%. European stock markets opened higher as investors braced for the latest meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which begins Tuesday. The data "will only add to the heat already on the Bank of England to raise interest rates further at the policy meeting next Thursday," said Ashley Webb, U.K. economist at Capital Economics. Investors are also preparing for the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting Thursday, at which a 25 basis point hike is widely expected.

Persons: Dow Jones, Ashley Webb Organizations: Mining, U.S . Federal Reserve, U.S, Economists, Nasdaq, Bank of England, Capital Economics, Central Locations: London, U.K

☆ UK employment hits record high but the economy is still short 1 million workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —The number of people in work in the United Kingdom has climbed above its pre-pandemic level for the first time, reaching a record high. Employment hit a record 33.1 million between February and April, with increases in both the number of employees and self-employed workers, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Employment in the United Kingdom has recovered more slowly than in any other major economy since the pandemic, according to the UK Institute for Employment Studies. This is the fastest rise on record, apart from the period when the figures were distorted by the pandemic, Morgan noted. Food inflation remained above 19% — near a 45-year high — hitting poor households the hardest because they spend more of their available income on food.

Persons: Darren Morgan, Morgan, Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt, ”, Ashley Webb, Anna Cooban Organizations: London CNN, National Statistics, Employment, UK Institute for Employment Studies, Bank of, “, Capital Economics, Bank, Ill Locations: United Kingdom, Europe, United States

☆ FTSE 100 slides into red as Ocado weighs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/FilesSummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.05%Wage growth rises unexpectedlyRevolution Bars Group slumpsFTSE 100 hovers over 4-1/2-year highJan 17 (Reuters) - UK's blue-chip FTSE 100 edged lower on Tuesday, snapping a four-day winning streak, as Ocado sank on grim Christmas sales at its online supermarket venture, while data showing rising pay growth fuelled fears about the Bank of England (BoE) keeping monetary policy tight. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.1%, while the domestically-oriented FTSE 250 (.FTMC) shed 0.05%. Shares of retailer Ocado Group (OCDO.L) tumbled 5.5% after its online supermarket joint venture with Marks & Spencer (MKS.L), Ocado Retail, said customers purchased fewer items per order in the run-up to Christmas. This saw the personal care, drug and grocery index (.FTNMX452010) lose 0.9%, making it the worst performing sector. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK housing market stalls, credit card borrowing accelerates: BoE data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Britain's housing market slowed dramatically in November and people ramped up borrowing on credit cards, according to Bank of England data on Wednesday that underscored the effects of rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis. British lenders approved 46,075 mortgages in November, down from 57,875 in October and marking the lowest level since June 2020, when the housing market slowed to a crawl following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other gauges of the housing market show a sharp slowdown underway after house prices surged by around a quarter during the pandemic. The BoE said lending to consumers rose in net terms by 1.5 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in November - driven by a 1.2 billion jump in credit card borrowing, the largest such increase since March 2004. "November's money and credit figures showed further signs that higher interest rates are dampening activity, particularly in the housing market.

☆ Jobless rate rises as UK prepares to tighten belts again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With finance minister Jeremy Hunt set to raise taxes and cut spending on Thursday to fix the public finances, potentially deepening an expected recession, the jobless rate rose to 3.6%, pushed up by a rate of 3.8% in September alone. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to remain at 3.5%. The number of job vacancies in the August-to-October period fell to 1.23 million, its lowest since late 2021. Wages excluding bonuses rose by 5.7%, their highest annual growth rate excluding the coronavirus pandemic period. Hunt has said he will address the problems of worker shortages in his budget statement on Thursday.

☆ UK lending figures point to cooling economy, market turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to net lending of just under 1 billion pounds. "September's money and credit figures point to further signs that consumers have been become more cautious in response to the weakening economic outlook," said Ashley Webb, UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics. The BoE figures showed a huge jump in the money supply, which on the M4 measure rose by 2.1% in September alone. The sub-category of M4 which covers companies like pension funds and life assurance firms jumped by a record 67.8 billion pounds in September, more than double the previous record. ($1 = 0.8656 pounds)Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by David Milliken, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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