UK Publications
Below is a list of our UK Publications for the last 5 months. If you are looking for reports older than 5 months please email info@pantheonmacro.com, or contact your account rep
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Weekly Monitor Global Rob Wood (Chief UK Economist)
- Risks are skewed to a hawkish hold by the Bank of England as the DMP shows rising price pressures.
- A slew of surveys last week suggests inflation risks are more prominent than growth weakness.
- Bank Rate expectations are moving with oil prices rather than economic data.
- February GDP exaggerates monthly growth, but stripping out noise the economy was growing solidly.
- Oil prices consistently below $100/bl mean we are close to removing our forecast for an MPC rate hike.
- A payroll fall and wage slowdown in this week’s data will keep the MPC cautious about hiking.
- The temporary two-week ceasefire is already under strain, suggesting energy prices will remain high...
- ...and the data-flow since the start of the Iran war has been fractionally hawkish, in our view.
- But the MPC will wait for more clarity before jumping, so we expect a hold in April and a rate hike in June.
- The data-flow over the past month has been solid, with underlying growth rising and payrolls stabilising…
- ...But the war in Iran means we cut our growth forecasts and raise our inflation projections.
- We see rates on hold in 2026, but it is hard to argue with market pricing for several hikes.
- Higher-for-longer energy prices raise our inflation forecast, and we now build in second-round effects.
- We cut our GDP growth forecast another 0.5%—now 0.8% since the war started—partly due to higher rates.
- Market pricing for three hikes is too many, but not wildly too many given upside risk to energy.
- Markets are pricing a more persistent energy-price rise as the war in Iran continues.
- As a result, markets have started to price in higher medium- as well as short-term inflation.
- We see Bank Rate on hold throughout 2026, but that is sensitive to energy and the government’s response.
- The MPC’s hopes of hitting the inflation target will have to wait another year if commodity prices are sustained.
- So, we expect the MPC to wait until April to ease, and see only one rate cut this year.
- A quick end to the war would bring forward cuts, but a protracted conflict would mean no reductions this year.
- Easing inflation expectations and a soft labour-market report seal a March rate cut...
- ...But the activity data remain solid, and business surveys point to sticky price pressures.
- So, we continue to expect just one more cut to Bank Rate this year.
- Unemployment hit a five-year high in December, meaning the MPC will cut Bank Rate in March.
- But the LFS data remain unreliable, while other indicators suggest a stabilising labour market.
- Strong retail sales and a jump in the PMI leave GDP on track to rise by 0.3% quarter-to-quarter in Q1.
- Further evidence of a rebound in growth came from the January RICS, BRC and REC surveys.
- Q4 GDP disappointed consensus—not us—but the crucial business service sectors can drive a better Q1.
- We expect inflation 0.1pp higher than the MPC, and payrolls to fall 10K month-to-month, in January.
- Surveys support our call for GDP growth to have picked up to 0.4% quarter-to-quarter in Q4.
- A dovish MPC means we have brought forward our forecast for the next cut to March, from April.
- We think this will be the last reduction in this rate cycle, however, as wages are proving sticky.
- The labour market is still loosening gradually, but price pressures are sticky and growth is rebounding.
- Rising consumers’ confidence and the jump in the flash PMI suggest positive momentum in Q1.
- We remain comfortable with our call for just one more cut to Bank Rate this year, in April.
- Last week brought evidence that the economy has rebounded smartly from the annual Budget circus.
- GDP growth is on track to rise 0.1% quarter-to-quarter in Q4, 10bp more than the MPC assumed.
- We look for a 25K month-to-month payroll fall in December, and inflation to tick up to 3.3%.
- Firms are putting the Budget circus behind them, despite a disappointing headline PMI.
- Surveys of job growth improved in December, and redundancies dropped after a post-Budget surge.
- The DMP shows wage growth and inflation stuck well above target-consistent rates.
- The story of 2025 was growth averaging close to potential but inflation much higher than expected.
- We see similar trends in 2026, with growth rebounding in Q1 and inflation proving persistent.
- We expect the MPC to end its rate-cutting cycle with a 25bp Bank Rate reduction in April.
- The MPC squeezed in a fourth rate cut for 2025 in response to weak wage, growth and inflation data.
- But rate-setters suggested limited room for more cuts, surprising the market hawkishly.
- We expect one more cut in April now, but that could easily be knocked off course by stubborn wages.
- GDP disappointed expectations, falling 0.1% month-to-month in October, as services output fell sharply.
- Autos production will boost activity in November, and a number of erratic falls should rebound...
- This week’s data have a high bar to keep the MPC on hold, but little room remains to keep cutting in 2026.
- Chaotic pre-Budget tax-hike speculation shifts the risk to our growth forecasts to the downside.
- The Chancellor’s decision to increase fuel duty from September 2026 raises our 2027 inflation forecast.
- We expect the MPC to cut in December and hold in 2026, but are close to adding an April 2026 cut too.
- The Chancellor is gambling on the MPC cutting rates rapidly, but the Budget provides little reason to do so.
- We think gilts are ripe for a sell-off as the market digests the details of shaky Budget plans.
- This week’s data releases will show a only small hit to activity from months of pre-Budget speculation.
