The Bank of England held UK interest rates at 4.5% last week as it warned that increased economic and global trade uncertainty has intensified. Its decision to hold rates was widely expected, but governor Andrew Bailey said the Bank still believed rates were “on a gradually declining path”. Economists are predicting two more rate cuts by the end of the year, with many suggesting the next could come as early as May. The Bank’s Monetary Policy committee (MPC), which sets rates, voted by a majority of eight to one in favour of holding at 4.5%.

With the negative reaction to Rachel Reeves’s first budget starting to disappear in the rear-view mirror, the equinox passed, and with the sun now shining, the overall attitude appears much more upbeat. There have also been two years of above-inflation pay rises which have pushed average wages back above pre-pandemic levels, helping to replenish the bank accounts of the typical household.