Economic Review – January 2020

The UK officially left the EU on 31 January and is now embarking on an 11-month transition period during which formal trade negotiations will take place.

Although data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed the economy was weak during the final few months of last year, recent survey data points to a potential pick-up in economic activity.

At the end of January, several major global markets closed in negative territory. The recently signed USChina trade deal was expected to lift the global economy, but the coronavirus outbreak, coupled with lethargic US economic data and mixed corporate earnings, has intensified global growth concerns.

Despite the rate of inflation in the UK falling to its lowest level in more than three years, the Bank of England (BoE) once again opted to leave interest rates on hold.

Chancellor Sajid Javid has promised an ‘infrastructure revolution’ when he delivers the country’s first post- Brexit Budget on Wednesday 11 March.