Economics

Inflation slowing to 2.8% in April is likely to be a temporary quirk due to the timing of some prices changes rather than a signal on the direction of travel.

Growth of 0.6% in Q1, shows the initial optimism we heard from our members at the start of the year was well grounded.

Holding the interest rate at 3.75% was the sensible call given the current geopolitical situation.

Today's 3.3% inflation figure for March is an early signal that the Iran conflict is feeding through into official data and impacting the UK economy.

GDP growth of 0.5% in the three months to February shows the UK economy performed better than expected at the start of the year.

The geopolitical kaleidoscope has been dramatically shaken since the Bank last met to set the interest rate. Today’s decision to hold rates at 3.75% was therefore widely expected.

Today’s data shows the UK economy remains stuck in a worrying low growth trap.