Recession alarm bells were ringing in the City today after the Bank of England slashed its growth forecast for this year to just 0.75%.
The odds of a “Reeves Recession” over the winter half of the year shortened when the Bank said the economy probably contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter of last year and will grow by only 0.1% in the current quarter.
Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, said: “Recent economic data points to a slowdown in the UK economy – GDP came in lower than expected, inflation has fallen and unemployment has ticked up.
FX analyst Kyle Chapman at Ballinger Group said: “This monetary policy report is a damning assessment of the economic impact of Reeves’ fiscal choices, and it will likely fuel calls for her exit.
The Bank, which today also cut its main interest rate to 4.5%, had previously expected growth this year to be twice as fast at 1.5%.
