EEF blog

Insights into UK manufacturing

Lee Hopley November 20, 2009 08:44

Week in Review
*MPC Minutes*	The decision to expand QE to £200bn was not a unanimous one. The MPC was split three ways with one member voting to halt QE and another to expand asset purchases by £40bn. The majority felt that the risks to growth were on the downside, given the surprising fall in GDP in q3, the ongoing problems in the banking sector and the likelihood of public spending cuts. Additional asset purchases would, therefore, support household and business spending
↑ *Inflation*	All inflation measures came in higher than expected in October. CPI rose significantly to 1.5% in October, up from 1.1% in September and RPI fell by 0.8%, compared with a 1.4% fall a month earlier.
↑ *Retail sales*	Sales volumes rose by 3.4% in the year to October. The data continue to point to firm growth in spending, despite the weaker consumer confidence picture.
↓ *Public finances*	UK net debt continued to climb in October to reach over 59% of GDP. Public sector net borrowing came in higher than expected - if tax revenues do not begin to grow at the turn of the year the Treasury may not meet its forecast of £175bn of borrowing for the year as a whole.
The week ahead Tuesday, 24^th: Business investment (q3)Wednesday 25^th: UK Output, Income and Expenditure (q3), UK consumer confidence (November)