The UK economy is experiencing a taste of stagflation. This won’t be anywhere near as severe or as persistent as in the 1970s. But for the next six months, the worsening product and labour shortages will put the brakes on the economic recovery at the same time as higher energy prices drive up CPI inflation from 3.2% in August to a peak of around 5.0% in April next year. The Bank of England’s growing fear that some of this rise in inflation is becoming embedded within wage growth and inflation expectations means it is on the cusp of raising interest rates from 0.10% for the first time since the pandemic. The markets have priced in increases in interest rates to over 1.00% by the end of next year. Our forecast that economic activity will be weaker than the Bank expects over the next six months and that CPI inflation will fall back to the 2% target in late 2022 and in 2023 suggests that interest rates won’t rise that far that fast.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to gain:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services