The post IMF hikes UK growth outlook amid lower inflation and interest rates appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

General view of the City of London skyline, the capital’s financial district, in October. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images LONDON — The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its 2024 growth outlook for the United Kingdom, saying declines in interest rates and inflation would boost domestic demand. The IMF now sees 1.1% growth for the U.K. economy this year, up from a July forecast of 0.7%. The agency also reiterated its forecast for a 1.5% expansion in 2025. Inflation in the U.K. came in at 1.7% in September, a decline from 11.1% in October 2022. Lower rates of services inflation and wage growth have led economists over the last week to forecast a faster pace of interest rate cuts from the Bank of England, forecasting the central bank will take its key rate from 5.25% at the start of the year to 4.5% by the end of 2024. Economic growth has been tepid so far this year, coming in at 0.2% in August after flatlining in June and July. The IMF’s brighter outlook comes as the country braces for the center-left Labour Party to this month deliver its first budget in 14 years. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned that the package will contain “tough” decisions in order to fill what he claims is a looming £22 billion ($28.5 billion) financing shortfall — a figure disputed by his predecessors in the Conservative Party — after Labour committed to slash net borrowing. While Starmer has ruled out increases to some major taxes, including on income and corporations, a broader package of tax hikes is anticipated. Uncertainty over the budget weighed on consumer confidence readings in August, though the S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index released Monday showed households were slightly more optimistic about their finances and more willing to make large purchases. “It’s welcome…

---

Filed under: News - @ October 22, 2024 1:19 pm