This is still a pretty benign report overall and broadly in line with Bank of England expectations contained in the February Inflation Report.

232

This significantly reduces the prospects of any interest cut until at least August. Indeed, it increases the odds that the eventual next move in interest rates could be up.

228

We suspect economic activity over much of 2006 will be held back by sluggish consumer spending and that the Bank of England's growth forecast will prove to be too optimistic.

187

The Bank of England currently seems unlikely to act before August given that growth in the first quarter appears to have been around trend, while survey evidence indicates that inflationary expectations have risen recently.

144

It appears that significant discounting is still needed to boost sales volumes.

143

The February CBI survey reinforces our belief that consumer spending will be unable to sustain the relatively strong performance seen in the fourth quarter of 2005.

141

Consumer confidence is faltering anew, which does not bode well for spending in the near term at least.

131

While the February mortgage lending and approval data are relatively healthy, there are hints that housing market activity could be starting to lose momentum after several months of improvement.

128

The testimonies to the Treasury Select Committee reinforce the impression that interest rates are set to remain on hold for several months to come.

119