CBI forecasts no Bank of England rate cuts until at least 2026

GDP growth just 0.8% in 2024

Elliot Gulliver-Needham
clock • 3 min read

Interest rates are not expected to be cut by the Bank of England until at least 2026, the Confederation of British Industry has forecast, even as growth remains stagnant.

In its latest economic forecasts published today (11 December), the body predicted GDP growth for the UK would average 0.6% this year, before growing 0.8% in 2024 and 1.6% in 2025. Meanwhile, the labour market will remain "relatively tight", it said, with unemployment peaking at 5% in mid-2025. The CBI's forecast was slightly more optimistic than the Office for Budget Responsibility's, which last month forecast GDP growth of 0.7% in 2024 and 1.4% in 2025, while expecting unemployment to peak at 4.6%. For the next two years, the CBI predicted the BoE's bank rate of 5.25% is expected to...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Markets

Over £900m lost in UK finance and insurance private investment in 2024

Over £900m lost in UK finance and insurance private investment in 2024

Fourth largest percentage decrease across sectors

Patrick Brusnahan
clock 10 July 2025 • 1 min read
Wellington Management's Natasha Brook-Walters: How to position for the new investing regime

Wellington Management's Natasha Brook-Walters: How to position for the new investing regime

Time to evolve

Natasha Brook-Walters
clock 10 July 2025 • 4 min read
Global IPOs expected to 'remain quiet' amid market volatility triggered by Trump's tariffs

Global IPOs expected to 'remain quiet' amid market volatility triggered by Trump's tariffs

European and UK IPOs on decline

Sorin Dojan
clock 09 July 2025 • 2 min read
Trustpilot