So far the Bank of England’s rate hiking cycle had been made somewhat easy by the UK’s strong economic performance. But MPC members perhaps shifted in their chairs as last week’s data releases told a story of fading economic momentum and a cooling labour market. However, wage pressures remain intact, and inflation expectations have edged up. Oil’s been on an upward march of late, feeding higher prices at the pump: petrol’s at its highest level since last December. Lots to ponder ahead of Thursday’s rate decision.
