The release on Wednesday morning from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the number of people in employment has continued to increase. The 3-month unemployment rate for November 2013-January 2014 was 7.2%, just above the Bank of England Forward Guidance 7% threshold announced in August 2013. The full ONS Labour Market Statistics release for March 2014…

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee minutes from the meeting held on the 5th and 6th of March show that the members voted unanimously to leave interest rates and asset purchases unchanged. Current base rate: 0.50% Asset purchases (QE): £375bn The report highlights the appreciation of Sterling due to safehaven flows due to the escalation of tensions in Ukraine/Russia. The MPC mentioned that Sterling could continue to strengthen if UK growth remains favourabl…

The central bank of the UK, has announced two new deputy governors, Ben Broadbent and the first female Nemat Shafik, who was previously with the International Monetary Fund. There is a third deputy governor role that is yet to be announced. Spencer Dale and Paul Fisher will lose their votes on the Monetary Policy Committee; however it is unlikely the change will have an effect as to when interest rates will be raised. The full press release from the Bank of England can be found h…

As the 5 year anniversary of the Bank of England cutting interest rates to 0.5%, the bank has announced to leave the base rate and asset purchases unchanged. The current level of asset purchases (QE) remains at £375bn. The 5 year anniversary is a significant length of time for interest rates to be held at the record low of 0.50%. The ultra-loose monetary policy has been highlighted as a risk to the economy by some analysts. Mark Carney’s policy of Forward Guidance headline…

On Wednesday morning the Office for National Statistics released the UK quarterly GDP growth release that remains unchanged at 0.7%. The release highlighted a positive that the construction industry output increased by 0.2% in the final quarter of 2013, compared to a previous estimate of a 0.3% decrease. The 2013 full year growth estimate is 1.8%, which though significantly below the pre-crisis levels this is a positive economy and something to build upon. The UK economy has begun to s…

The Bank of England Minutes released on Wednesday, showed that the MPC voted unanimously to keep interest rates at the record low rate of 0.50% and asset purchases unchanged. The BoE base rate has now been at 0.50% since March 2009. In the minutes it said that despite the sharp fall in unemployment, the committee believed that the economy is able to “absorb spare capacity further before raising rates”. The change in focus from the 7% unemployment threshold to reducing the o…

The inflation rate for the UK fell to below the Bank of England’s target of 2% for the first time since November 2009. Inflation has overshot the 2% target since then, which had been a concern for analysts, who believed the central bank would need to raise interest rates to combat the rise. Mark Carney has now released “Forward Guidance 2.0,” which is focused on the output gap, which last year the BoE said was “unobservable” and “difficult to explain&rdquo…

The Bank of England governor Mark Carney released the Quarterly Inflation report on Wednesday morning followed by a Q&A session. Key Headlines *Stimulus will need to be exceptional for some time *BOE SEES UNEMPLOYMENT FALLING TO 7% IN QTR THROUGH JANUARY *BOE SEES SCOPE TO KEEP 0.5% RATE AFTER JOBLESS THRESHOLD HIT *BOE SEES CPI 1.7% IN 2Q 2015 BASED ON MKT RATE EXPECTATIONS The full Bank of England Quarterly Inflation Report In the FX market…

The fourth quarter growth figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed that the economy grew by 0.7%, in line with expectations, but slightly below the Bank of England’s projections. Following the release sterling initially weakened against the greenback by around 50 pips, and the subsequently recovered to back above 1.66: Full ONS release. Figures released earlier this morning from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reported that the…

The UK Unemployment rate for December compiled by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) declined to 7.1%, lower than the median estimate of economists of 7.3% and Novembers 7.4%. This is the biggest fall since 1997, the number of out of work dropped by 137,000. The data released by the Office for National Statistics showed that the unemployment rate had dropped to near the Bank of England’s forward guidance threshold of 7%. The BoE had previously highlighted the unemployment rate…

The Council of Mortgage Lenders December report estimates that gross mortgage lending in the UK was £17bn in December. The CML accounts for roughly 95% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK, so it is the primary barometer. This amount is unchanged from November, but is up 49% since December 2012. House prices in the UK have had wide coverage in the media, as there are concerns that the in some regions the price rises are unsustainable and could be forming a bubble. The capital…

The Office for National Statistics released the UK December retail sales figures on Friday morning, which were well above analysts’ expectations. These were the strongest UK retail numbers since records began, with GBP bid against all of the majors. UK Retail Sales Data (Dec): Ex Auto (M/M) +2.8% v. +0.3% exp. (prev. +0.2%) Ex Auto (Y/Y) +6.1% v. +3.2% exp. (prev. +2.1%) — Sigma Squawk (@SigmaSquawk) January 17, 2014 This adds pressure on retailers who…

Mark Carney the Governor of the Bank of England spoke before the Treasury committee on Wednesday. He stated that he wasn’t concerned by the house price rises in the UK and expects the housing market to cool by 2016. The housing market, primarily in the South East, has seen considerable gains with fears of a bubble in pricing emerging. The record low interest rates (0.50%) combined with minimal new supply and increasing demand, has fuelled double digit percent rises per year in some reg…

UK consumer price inflation (CPI) has slowed to the Bank of England’s target level of 2%, for the first time since April 2006. The December release from the Office for National Statistics showed that CPI had fell from 2.1% in November to 2.0% in December. The Bank of England targets 2.0% inflation, which has been consistently overshot since 2009. CPI is calculated from a basket of goods and services that is meant to represent household expenditure. The largest contributors to the…

The Bank of England will announce at 12pm (London) if they are to maintain the current base rate of 0.50% and if they will adjust the current level of asset purchase of £375bn. The UK economic recovery is beginning to take hold, and there has been considerable speculation as to when the Lady of Threadneedle St. will raise base rates from their current record low. KPMG/REC: UK Jobs Growth Strongest Since March 2010 < 7% threshold here we come... — Joe Bond (@Joe_T…