Fiscal Policy & Economic Backdrop
Autumn 2017

The Governor of the Bank of England has indicated that interest rates are liable to rise in the “relatively near future”, with the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee on 2nd November. Interest rates have remained at 0.25% for over a year, despite rising inflation which rose to 3.0% in September- its highest level since April 2012. However, business leaders are warning of the adverse impact a rise would have on the economy. The UK’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s, while the IMF has also downgraded its long term growth forecast for the UK economy to 1.7% per annum by 2022, down from 1.9%.