Whether Hammond remains quite so Tiggerish in the light of the latest UK growth figures remains to be seen. UK economy suffers weakest period of GDP growth in five years Read morePublicly, the chancellor put a brave face on it. Strip out the impact of the weather on activity and the economy was fundamentally strong. According to the ONS, inflation is on the way down and earnings are on the way up. Following the release of the latest ONS growth figures, the City thinks a May rise is inconceivable, which is why the pound fell by 1% against the US dollar and the euro.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2018 13:38 UTC