The move was widely expected and entirely justified. If you believed the forecasts - sensible folks treat them with a high degree of scepticism – inflation was supposed to be above the 2 per cent target of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank at this point.
It undershot this and all the forecasts at 1.7 per cent. Not even the dizziest of optimists expected that. The hard medicine prescribed by the Bank to restore price stability is doing its job, as the MPC observed in its minutes. They cited “continued progress in disinflation, particularly as previous external shocks have abated”.
For those with mortgages, and for those looking to take them out, not to mention the nation’s small businesses, what really matters now is what comes next. Life is still tough for them. Will there be some festive cheer with another cut in December?
The MPC’s vote went 8-1, which was a more emphatic result than I expected (the lone dissident was rate hawk-in-chief Catherine Mann). We can confidently predict that the leading dove Swati Dhingra will vote for a second cut, and that Mann will stick to her guns too. There are differing views among the rest about how much scope they have to further ease rates.
Esta historia es de la edición November 08, 2024 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 08, 2024 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
'People want to return to a dirtier, less fashionable era'
Provocateur and professional party animal The Dare chats to Annabel Nugent about his debut album, getting the Daily Mail all riled up, and why he hates the words indie sleaze’
Attention, please: Spotify's feelgood vision of the future
As the app makes its latest pivot, Andrew Griffin reports from behind the scenes of a tech company with a vision to enhance the Joe Rogan effect’ and take on YouTube
King Kohli's crown slips as India journey down under
There is a famous portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger, painted as part of the Whitehall Mural in the mid1530s.
Formation clues as Amorim takes first training sessions
Ruben Amorim has his feet under the table at Manchester United’s Carrington training ground as he begins work in earnest after officially taking charge of the club.
Fashioning City 3.0 will be Pep's greatest challenge yet
The Premier League champions are in need of a rebuild and their managerial godfather is prepared to stay to oversee it after agreeing a new one-year contract
Shock rise in inflation is bad news for our mortgage rates
A mere month after inflation undershot the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target, it’s back up again – in the sharpest spike in two years.
Ford to cut 800 UK jobs as electric car take-up slows
Ford has said it will cut 800 jobs in the UK as it battles waning interest in electric cars and stiff competition from other carmakers.
Mortgage pain fuels record.rise in home ownership fees
Soaring monthly mortgage payments are fuelling the highest rise in home ownership costs in more than three decades as more than 100,000 households come off fixed-term deals every month.
Why is Trump keen to hand power to TV quack Dr Oz?
Rhian Lubin on the president-elect’s pick to lead Medicare
Hong Kong media mogul Lai defiant at collusion trial
NAMITA SINGH ALEXANDER BUTLER