Economics
U.K. Economy Battered by the ‘Beast From the East’ Snowstorm
- Snow, storms take toll on PMI survey reports in March
- Bank of England downgraded estimate for 1Q growth on weather
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Bad weather in March has taken a toll on the U.K. economy, but the ‘Beast from the East’ may not be enough to shake the Bank of England from its path toward another interest-rate increase.
Reports this week showed snow and storms dragged growth in services to its weakest in almost two years, and saw the construction industry shrink for the first time in six months. While the pound fell after the services report, investors are still pricing in an around 85 percent chance of the BOE hiking rates in May. That’s little changed from last week.