Bank of England ‘could worsen recession’ without interest rate cuts soon; UK property market gaining momentum – business live

Andy Haldane urges central bank to consider interest-rate cuts, while Rightmove reports rise in house asking prices this month

• Failure to fix council funding crisis threatens Tory election pledge, adviser warns

Analysts at Goldman Sachs predict the Bank of England will cut interest rates in May.

They point out that last week’s flurry of economic data showed the UK unemployment rate fell to 3.%, while retail sales rebounded by 3.4% – and inflation was lower than expected at 4%.

In sum, the tighter labour market and increased sales activity would skew risks towards a first cut in June.

Even so, the January inflation print surprised to the downside and supports our economists’ expectation of a first cut in May.

Car and home insurance premiums have increased significantly because of the rising cost of claims.

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