A sharp rise in a single economic indicator could be curtains for the chancellor
The IndependentCould Wednesday’s inflation data be the end of the chancellor? Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s tax, spending and especially borrowing plans are coming under increasing threat from the sharp rise in borrowing costs, caused by a severe bout of distemper on the bond markets that Britain relies on to fund its debt, and thus keep the show on the road. But a widely anticipated move at the end of the February meeting of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is still very much dependent on inflation behaving itself. With the exception of the redoubtable interest rate dove Swati Dhingra, there won’t be much dissent on the MPC if inflation starts heading northwards at an unexpectedly rapid rate, because the primary goal of the MPC is maintaining price stability. They won’t do that if the word “stagflation” – high inflation/interest rates, but little or no growth – hangs around like an uninvited guest with a severe case of halitosis.