Higher growth, higher inflation: economist verdict on UK budget
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HIGHER GROWTH, HIGHER INFLATION: ECONOMIST VERDICT ON UK BUDGET
Economists are weighing in on how the new tax-heavy UK budget will trickle through to growth and inflation, and a trend is emerging: revisions are mostly to the upside on both counts.
At Bank of America, economists upgraded their UK growth forecast from 1.1% to 1.5% in 2025 and from 1.2% to 1.4% in 2026 on the back of the budget.
"The near-term growth boost from higher public spending and investment increase is likely to outweigh the negative impact of tax rises," they wrote in a note.
BofA also ups its UK inflation forecast from 2.4% to 2.6% in 2025 and from 1.9% to 2.0% in 2026. A rise in the minimum wage in April 2025 is one factor, as well as higher employer national insurance contributions passing through to inflation.
BNP Paribas economists also said the budget reinforces their cautiously optimistic view on UK growth.
"The combination of duty increases and the demand effect resulting from the investment pledges does however pose upside risks to inflation. This supports our view of a gradual approach
to monetary policy easing from the Bank of England," the BNP note read.
Elsewhere, UBS economist Dean Turner notes the tax burden is set to increase to the highest level on record.
"However, more borrowing will allow spending to increase by
around GBP 70bn (~2% of GDP), a large proportion of which will boost growth in the short term," he wrote.
Goldman Sachs economists join the chorus, bringing their UK 2025 GDP growth forecast to 1.6% from 1.5%, as well as raising their core inflation forecasts by 0.2pp through 2025.
This reflects "stronger demand growth, the impact of the change in employer National Insurance Contributions and changes in vehicle excise duty," writes GS.
There are also implications for how GS sees the Bank of England's rate cutting trajectory, with the prospect of stronger 2025 growth likely dampening the urgency for sequential cuts in the short term.
They now expect the BoE to hold the bank rate in December, rather than their previous prediction of a 25 basis point cut.
(Lucy Raitano)
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