The Bank of England has cut its growth forecast for Britain’s economy to zero for the second quarter of 2019 on and has highlighted risks from global trade tensions and growing fears of a no-deal Brexit.

Sterling and shares brushed aside the UK local election results as investors focused on the potential fallout from the European Parliament elections later this month.

Sterling recovered from its sell-off in the wake of the British parliament’s Brexit votes, as investors bet the UK government would still avoid exiting the EU without an agreed trade deal in place.

There has been a lot of commentary about how the UK economy has held up better than expected since the vote for Brexit in June 2016, writes Oliver Mangan. 

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting last week concluded with the central bank increasing interest rates for the first time since July 2007.

Sterling is likely to be driven this week by the state of Brexit negotiations and UK politics, after losing support from bets on central bank policy tightening.

Britain’s economy grew at its slowest pace since 2013 in the 12 months after last year’s Brexit vote, data showed yesterday, painting a subdued picture as the Bank of England prepares to raise interest rates for the first time in a decade.

What happens to the price of oil in the coming months will be critical to the global inflation outlook, and, of course, to the monetary policy of the world’s major central banks.

UK consumers cut back on spending for a third month in July as house-price growth slowed sharply, dealing yet another blow to the economy.

British employers plan to increase pay at the weakest rate since 2013, a survey shows, offering poor prospects for British households already strained by higher inflation since last year’s Brexit vote.

More British lenders plan to rein in the supply of credit to consumers in the next three months than at any time since the financial crisis, according to a Bank of England survey that may add to concerns about the UK economic outlook ahead of Brexit.

The EU looks to be leaving the door open for a deal that could avoid some of the major downsides of a ‘hard’ Brexit, writes Oliver Mangan

British consumer prices rose last month at the fastest pace since June 2014 and are set to rise further, propelled by higher global oil prices and the Brexit-fuelled fall in the pound, official data showed yesterday.

Last week’s November meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) concluded in line with market expectations for no changes to policy.

Computer-driven hedge funds were most likely the main winners when sterling lost a tenth of its value to a 31-year low in a matter of minutes yesterday, investors said.

Sterling has fallen to a 31-year low against the dollar and hit a five-year low against the euro on fears of a hard exit by Britain from the EU and prime minister Theresa May’s comments on the impact of loose monetary policy which some saw as a thinly veiled attack on the Bank of England.

British lenders approved the fewest mortgages in nearly two years last month as the UK housing market continued to slow after June’s vote to leave the EU, raising the chance of an outright fall in prices next year.

Uncertainty and fear generated following the June 23 vote means sentiment towards the economy has been impacted, writes Jim Power 

The Bank of England confirmed it would press on with a £60bn economy-boosting plan despite hitting an early stumbling block.

As expected, the Bank of England announced a 25 basis points cut in its bank rate to 0.25% from 0.50% following last week’s meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Sterling yesterday headed for its third monthly decline as investors anticipated the Bank of England will cut interest rates and add stimulus to stem a potential fallout from Brexit.

The Bank of England is almost certain to cut benchmark borrowing costs when it sets policy next week, but a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll said it would hold off for now on restarting its asset purchase programme.

The July meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) concluded last week with the bank rate left unchanged at 0.5%.

The Bank of England wrong-footed investors by keeping interest rates on hold, but held out the prospect of a stimulus package soon to help the economy cope with Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

Sterling climbed the most since three days before Britain’s EU referendum as home secretary Theresa May prepared to take over as the UK’s next prime minister, removing one layer of political uncertainty.

Mark Carney will face a policy quandary if Britain votes to leave the European Union this week, according to former Bank of England deputy governor John Gieve.

The Bank of England plans to launch a financial technology accelerator programme to tap the expertise of start-ups as a flurry of innovations reshape finance.

The Bank of England escalated its warnings about the fallout from a British vote to leave the European Union next week, saying it could harm the global economy and sterling looked increasingly likely to fall further after an “Out” decision.

British manufacturing activity barely grew last month, adding to signs that the UK economy is slowing in the run-up to the country’s referendum on EU membership, fresh data showed yesterday.

As expected, the May meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last week concluded with no changes to policy.

Last week’s meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) concluded in line with market expectations, with no changes to policy. 

A Eurosceptic Conservative MP in England has called on the governor of the Bank of England to consider his position, accusing Mark Carney of "a deliberate attempt to scare people into thinking we should remain in the EU".

Bank of England governor Mark Carney was yesterday accused of jeopardising the bank’s credibility in the European Union debate as he faced a fiery line of questioning from MPs.

The euro area has been, if not an economic disaster, a "very serious problem" affecting Britain, the former governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King has said.

UK unemployment unexpectedly fell to the lowest in almost a decade and wage growth slowed less than economists forecast as Brtain’s labour market continued to strengthen.

Growth in the UK economy slowed last year, with GDP increasing by an estimated 2.2%, down from 2.9% in 2014. Meanwhile, inflation was much weaker than expected. The CPI rate in the UK has been stuck at between -0.1% and +0.1% since last February.

Inflation at zero, rather than a forecast -0.1%, was not enough to shift sterling out of tight ranges on the run in to tonight’s US Federal Reserve meeting, widely expected to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.