The Bank of England cut Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%, its lowest level since 2022, as easing inflation and growing signs of economic stress prompted policymakers to act. This marked the first rate cut since August. Five policymakers voted to cut rates, while four others voted to keep rates unchanged. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) stated that future policy easing would be guided by developments in the inflation outlook, adding that the degree of policy restraint had eased. UK inflation slowed to 3.2% in November, the lowest in eight months and below the Bank of England's...
Annual inflation in the United States (US), as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell 2.7% in November, according to a report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thursday. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release key Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for November on Thursday at 1:30 PM GMT. The inflation report will not include the CPI for October and will not offer a monthly CPI figure for November, due to the lack of data collection during the government shutdown. Therefore, investors will be closely watching the annual CPI and core CPI figures...
Applications for US unemployment benefits fell after a spike in the previous week, underscoring the choppy nature of the data at this time of year. Initial claims decreased by 13,000 to 224,000 in the week ended Dec. 13, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 225,000 applications. Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, rose to 1.9 million in the previous week. Holiday-related factors often lead to swings in weekly claims data, which will likely continue through the end...