Ready, steady, not quite yet. This week saw the Bank of England meet to set interest rates. Unlike the European Central Bank, Canadians or Danes, they weren’t quite ready to cut interest rates, and held at 5.25% as forecast.

This week we saw two western central banks take the plunge and cut their interest rate. First up we had the Bank of Canada, who beat their southern neighbours to the table and reduced by 0.25% to 4.75%.

There can be little doubt that the story of the week was the decision to call a UK general election for the 4th July. Between now and then we will hear from each party their stance regarding policy.

All eyes were on UK jobs data last week, as forecasters looked for hints that the tightness in the market could be wearing off. It wasn’t to be however.

It was a big week for the UK in terms of economic data being released. Although a lagging indicator, it was good to see the UK economy exit recession in the first quarter of 2024.

Very little economic data from the UK this week to attract the attention. Perhaps the most headline grabbing release was the Nationwide Housing Prices survey to April which showed month on month values fell 0.4%