In charts: Bonuses help push UK wage growth up to 2.1 per cent as unemployment falls February 18, 2015 The UK’s unemployment rate tumbled to 5.7 per cent between October and December, while growth in pay rose to its highest since 2013, according to "corking" figures published by the Office for National Statistics today. Pay leapt 0.4 percentage points to 2.1 per cent including bonuses, but slowed to 1.7 per cent excluding bonuses. The [...]
Plunging inflation may knock deficit reduction February 17, 2015 Inflation fell to a record low in January, giving a welcome boost to hard-pressed households – but a group of economists warned the drop will harm the government’s finances, because tax receipts rise when prices go up. Prices rose by just 0.3 per cent in the 12 months to January, the Office for National Statistics said [...]
Record low inflation should not rule out a post-election rate rise February 17, 2015 The long-term view of UK inflation is much more positive than January’s figures suggest. Yesterday’s numbers showed that the UK inflation rate has fallen further – to 0.3 per cent. But the decline is showing signs of bottoming out – and temporary fluctuations should not distract us from this. Excluding food, drink, tobacco and energy, [...]
UK inflation: Last time it was this low, it was measured by the prices of swiss roll, tracksuits and luncheon meat February 17, 2015 The last time inflation was this low, shoppers' baskets were overflowing with Swiss rolls, shell suits and tins of luncheon meat. Yum. Prices rose just 0.3 per cent in January, the latest ONS figures reveal, the lowest since records began, and even slower than the previous low of December. Back in 1989 when those records [...]
Interactive: UK inflation hits 0.3 per cent, but how does it compare to other European Union countries? February 17, 2015 UK inflation slowed to 0.3 per cent in January, lower than December’s figure of 0.5 per cent and a good distance below the two per cent target for the Bank of England. More on this story: UK inflation falls to its lowest since records began But the UK is not alone in missing targets: the [...]
UK inflation falls to 0.3 per cent in January, its lowest since records began in 1989 February 17, 2015 UK inflation has fallen to its lowest level since equivalent records began in 1989, as plunging oil prices and a bitter supermarket price war push down the cost of living. The consumer price index (CPI) – which measures the cost of items in a typical family's shopping basket – rose just 0.3 per cent in January [...]
Inflation worries shaped Bank of England interest rate vote February 15, 2015 Worries about the UK’s economy entering into a deflationary spiral stayed the hand of two Bank of England board members who had wanted an early interest rate rise. Martin Weale, an inflation hawk and independent member of the monetary policy committee, wrote an article for the Observer, in which eh explained the reasons for his [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney: Interest rate cut is possible as UK heads toward deflation February 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney revealed yesterday that interest rates could drop even further below their historic low of 0.5 per cent, as the collapse in global oil prices drags Britain towards deflation. In a mandatory letter to chancellor George Osborne, Carney said that if “global activity continues to disappoint, or if low inflation [...]
Bank of England inflation report: UK inflation rate could slide into negative February 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned UK inflation could slip into negative territory this spring, but he also upgraded the economy's growth forecasts on the belief it's most likely to be benign. Threadneedle Street warned it was "more likely than not that headline inflation would turn negative this year". In such a scenario, it would [...]
Cost of living to drop as UK gets good deflation February 3, 2015 Prices in the UK are set to fall, top economists said yesterday, giving British workers a break after years of low wage rises. Falling oil and food prices are expected to give a welcome boost to shoppers. Official data should show prices falling 0.3 per cent in the 12 months to March and 0.1 [...]