UK

On Thursday, markets received preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures for August. As a reminder, PMIs are timely indicators of trends in manufacturing and services, with a number above 50 signalling an expansion and below 50 a contraction.

The Bank of England (BoE) delivered a widely expected 25bp cut on Thursday, taking interest rates to a two-year low of 4%. But the real story was in the balance of views on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which for the first time in its 28-year history had to conduct two rounds of voting and has forced markets to reassess the path of future rate cuts.

Over the last week or so, the major UK banks have been reporting results for the first six months of 2025. Considering the noise around the UK’s fiscal situation and some softening in broader macroeconomic conditions, these releases offer another valuable data point for analysing the health of the UK economy and the operating environment of UK banks.

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) issued their monthly summary of the UK government’s income and expenses as well as the impact these have on the budget deficit and fiscal debt levels.

The UK Prime RMBS market has continued to evolve in 2025, with a broadening of its participant base driven by the entrance of two new sponsors (Nottingham Building Society and Newcastle Building Society) which have both priced inaugural deals this year.

The latest Labour Market Overview published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday morning has raised eyebrows, with some metrics seemingly having deteriorated quite rapidly versus last month.

With much fanfare, President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer announced a “historic” trade deal between the US and UK on Thursday. The main points for the UK are a reduction in auto tariffs from 27.5% to 10% for the first 100,000 cars that enter the US, and the removal of steel and aluminium tariffs.

April was one of the most volatile months across financial markets in recent memory, triggered by President Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement on April 2.

President Trump’s tariffs have sparked a global sell-off across risk assets, and we expect markets to remain volatile in the short-term given the implications for the global economy.

With the recent economic spotlight dominated by President Trump’s rhetoric and Germany’s blockbuster fiscal expansion plans, Wednesday brought the UK back into focus with the latest round of inflation data and the Spring Statement from the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

With the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) set to publish its updated economic and fiscal outlook on March 26, we are starting to see headlines concerning potential changes the Labour government could make to its budgeting plans in response to shifting forecasts.

Last week, risky assets continued to experience a somewhat volatile period. The tone was generally a risk off one, with correlations between risk free and risky assets back to negative.