Petrol prices ‘set to fall further’ as inflation reaches 12-year low

17 Dec 2014

UK inflation fell to a twelve-year low in November, fuelled largely by a significant drop in the price of petrol – a trend which is set to continue, according to the RAC.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that CPI inflation fell to 1% in November, from 1.3% in October.

The RAC has predicted that based on current trends, petrol prices will continue to fall, reaching less than £1 a litre by early 2015.

The average price of a litre of petrol now stands at 116.9p, while diesel costs an average of 122.33p a litre.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) welcomed the news of a fall in inflation. David Kern, Chief Economist at the BCC, said, ‘These figures will make it easier for the MPC to resist calls for higher interest rates. The UK recovery is still facing challenges, so a prolonged period of low interest rates will help to underpin business confidence and support investment’.

However, some experts have warned that a further fall in inflation could have an adverse impact on the economy.

Think tank says fall in wages could be worse than reported

10 Jul 2014

According to the Resolution Foundation, official figures on the fall in real earnings of households may have been underestimated.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was analysed by the think tank, which says the ONS report may have overstated real-term household incomes by up to 20%, meaning a much steeper decline.

Critical to this reappraisal is a measure of wage growth among the 4.5 million self employed people in the UK.

Senior analyst at the Resolution Foundation, Laura Gardiner, said: ‘What we know about earnings is central to our understanding of the recovery and the timing of interest rate rises so it’s crucial that we equip ourselves with the best possible wage measure.

‘It’s also the case that the self employed have greater flexibility to respond to lower demand by making ever deeper cuts to their earnings’.

Figures show that over 700,000 people have declared themselves self employed since 2008, making them one in seven of the total UK workforce.

Consumer confidence wavering, says data company

22 Apr 2014

Retail intelligence company Springboard has released figures showing that Easter shopping was down from last year.

The bank holiday saw a drop in footfall by 1.9% compared to 2013, despite reports in recent months that consumers, homeowners and businesses feel more confident than they have since the start of the financial crisis.

Marketing and insights director at Springboard, Diane Wehrle, said: ‘People are clearly still very nervous about spending and these figures reveal the fragility of the recovery. Easter weekend is the next big trading opportunity for retailers after Christmas and a huge opportunity, but even good weather was not enough to encourage people to go out and spend’.

However, a report issued by Springboard earlier in April gave a clear indication that shoppers were returning. Figures for March showed that footfall was 1.8% higher than the same month in 2013. In particular, the high street footfall was up by 2.6% on the previous year.