UK Publications
Below is a list of our UK Publications for the last 6 months. If you are looking for reports older than 6 months please email info@pantheonmacro.com, or contact your account rep
Please use the filters on the right to search for a specific date or topic.
Daily Monitor Weekly Monitor Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)
- Brexit, demand uncertainty, staff shortages and high interest rates have held back business investment.
- All of these drags should ease, with staff shortages falling and the MPC likely to cut rates this summer.
- Firms’ investment intentions point to 1.5% year-over- year capex growth, an upside risk to our forecast.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- Headline and services inflation overshot the MPC’s forecast by 0.1pp and 0.2pp, respectively…
- …Reflecting stronger-than-expected underlying price pressures, not the impact of an early Easter.
- We still expect the MPC to cut Bank Rate in June, but are very close to delaying that first cut to August.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- The MPC will note the sharp employment drop, which suggests a risk the labour market is loosening quickly.
- But the headline jobs data are ropey, and surveys point to employment slowly rising.
- The MPC will focus more on stronger-than-expected pay, which suggests June is the earliest for a rate cut.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- Ben Bernanke’s review of BoE forecasting makes detailed modelling recommendations.
- But it gives wide latitude on how to use scenarios and does not recommend publishing a policy rate path.
- Nothing new for markets near term; in the medium term, changes are still open to debate.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- We raise our growth forecast, and now expect a 0.4% quarter-to-quarter GDP gain in Q1.
- Returning growth won’t stop the MPC cutting rates but will keep it to a one-cut-per-quarter pace.
- The MPC switching to scenarios, from fan charts, post Bernanke Review likely matters little to markets.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- UK interest rates have followed the US in most major cycles since the mid-1970s.
- Exceptions to this when the economies have diverged mean the MPC can cut rates in June as inflation slows.
- The MPC will be cautious about the pace of cuts, given sticky services inflation and to avoid GBP falling.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- CPI inflation likely fell to 3.0% in March, from 3.4% in February, 0.1pp weaker than the MPC forecast.
- The early-Easter boost probably led to servicesinflation of 5.9%, 0.1pp above the MPC’s forecast.
- Services inflation should drop sharply to 5.2% in April as those Easter effects unwind.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- ‘Easter-adjusted’ BRC retail sales probably rose 1.2% year-over-year in March, similar to February.
- We expect a 0.3% month-to-month increase in official retail sales volumes in March.
- Retail volumes will continue rising after March as real income increases and relative goods prices fall.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- We look for PAYE employment to rise by 30K in March and the unemployment rate to stay at 3.9%.
- We expect a 0.3% month-to-month rise in average weekly earnings ex bonuses in February...
- ... Leaving year-over-year wage growth on track to undershoot the MPC’s Q1 forecast.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- We expect quarter-to-quarter GDP growth to average 0.3% this year, driven by rising household real income.
- Energy-price cuts will pull inflation below 2% in Q2; sticky services will return inflation above 2% in Q4.
- We expect the MPC gradually to ease its restrictive policy, with the first cut in June and 75bp total in 2024.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- We think GDP was unchanged month-to-month in February, after rising 0.2% in January.
- Poor weather likely weighed on construction, but services and manufacturing probably grew slightly.
- That would put GDP on track to rise 0.2-to-0.3% in Q1, above the MPC’s forecast of 0.1%.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- CPI inflation likely fell to 3.0% in March, from 3.4% in February, 0.1pp weaker than the MPC expects.
- Declines in food and core goods inflation account for most of the slowdown in March.
- Services inflation likely matched the MPC’s forecast of 5.8% in March.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- February’s money and credit data show consumer caution fading, which should support GDP growth.
- Mortgage approvals hit an 18-month high, and lumpsum repayments fell to their lowest since May 2020.
- Declines in mortgage interest rates this year will boost the housing market and spending further.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- Revised data still show a minor recession last year, but it’s an even smaller 0.4% cumulative GDP fall.
- The recession was driven by rising saving, as consumers worried about energy bills and interest rates.
- The saving rate won’t increase further from its elevated level, so consumption can recover in 2024.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- The OBR expects the economy to grow three times as fast in 2025 as the MPC does.
- Its productivity growth forecast, however, is likely to be disappointed, boosting government borrowing.
- Without action, government debt-to-GDP will probably still be rising in 2029.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- We estimate that house prices were trending up at a 0.4% month-to-month rate in February.
- We expect monthly house-purchase mortgage approvals to rise to 65K in May, from 55K in January.
- Gradual mortgage-rate falls and firm income growth should allow house prices to rise 4% in 2024.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- Last week the MPC hammered home the message that rate cuts are coming soon.
- The Committee will likely reduce inflation persistence in its May forecasts, setting up a June rate cut.
- We think the MPC will cut more slowly than the market expects, as it learns from the data where neutral is.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- Consumers’ confidence in their personal financial situation rose to a 28-month high in March.
- Retail sales beat the consensus in February, staying on track for a 1.7% quarter-to-quarter gain in Q1.
- We expect quarter-to-quarter GDP growth in Q1 to comfortably exceed the MPC’s 0.1% forecast.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- The MPC’s tweaked guidance moves it closer to cutting rates.
- It continues to set sizeable hurdles to the first cut, downplaying weakening wages and inflation.
- We expect the MPC to cut Bank Rate in June, but still see risks skewed to a delay until August.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK
- Headline CPI inflation undershot the MPC’s forecast by 0.1pp in February, as base effects unwound.
- Every month that passes without inflation surprising the MPC to the upside brings us closer to a rate cut.
- The MPC’s measure of underlying services inflation is proving sticky, however, keeping it cautious.
Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)UK