18. Weekly Newsletter
UK house sales on the rise
There has been a rebound in house sales in the UK, with consumers displaying continued confidence in the UK housing market. House sales rose for the 7th consecutive month in April, with an annual rate increase of 12% in the last four weeks. This market rebound is a complete U-turn to an almost 2-year decline that happened before this period. Data from Zoopla also showed that the average estate agent had 14% more properties on the housing market in the last month than in April last year. Executive director of Zoopla, Richard Donnell, stated that the rise has come due to more reasonable mortgage rates, which increases consumer confidence and the greater choice of homes for sale. Data also shows that the UK is on target for over 1.1 million house sales in 2024- a 10% rise compared with 2023.
Newspapers
Over the last seven days, the UK’s front page news cycle has covered varied topics. Some of the newspaper headlines from this week were:
- Financial Times- ‘UK veterinary deal with EU could boost agrifood exports by 22%, study finds’
- Financial Times- ‘Lloyds profits fall as interest rate benefits wane’
- Financial Times- ‘Sunak pledge to boost defence spending raises prospect of cuts elsewhere’
- Financial Times- ‘UK business activity beats forecasts in April’
- Financial Times- ‘Britons avoid the pub as cost of living weighs on leisure spending’
- The Guardian- ‘It’s pretty gloomy out there’: new NFU chief Tom Bradshaw fights to give food producers a better deal’
- The Times- ‘Potholes ‘cost UK economy £14bn’
Businesses face harsh tariffs from new Brexit border fees
Post-Brexit border checks are coming into fruition at the end of the month, with importers of food and plants from the European Union facing harsh tariffs. The British Chambers of Commerce has pleaded with the government to delay the introduction of such charges as small businesses will not be able to handle them. Fees for UK food imports have been capped at £145 per product type. These additional costs will stack up to tens of thousands per month, with the head of trade policy at BCC warning that owners of corner shops would face an “explosion in costs”. He also stated that this would effectively have a domino effect on British consumers as small chop owners will be forced to raise the prices to account for the punitive charges.
UK Grocery inflation falls
Grocery price inflation fell to 3.2% in the last month, a 30-month low demonstrating a loosening grip on the cost-of-living crisis that has affected millions of households post-pandemic. The new low has primarily been due to increased promotional spending by consumers, with items bought on offer marking almost one-third of the sales in April—the highest percentage since early 2021.
