Reeves's gloom hits business as confidence slumps at fastest level since start of the pandemic

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter

Updated: 22:06 BST, 1 October 2024

Buzz kill: Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s continued doom-mongering is weighing on the economy

Manufacturers have suffered the sharpest drop in confidence since the start of the pandemic – in the latest evidence that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s doom-mongering is weighing on the economy.

The closely-watched purchasing managers’ index for the sector showed that while it

continued to grow, firms experienced the biggest decline in sentiment about the year ahead since March 2020.

Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiled the survey, said: ‘Uncertainty about the direction of government policy ahead of the coming Autumn Budget was a clear cause of the loss of confidence, especially given recent gloomy messaging.’

Reeves has claimed that she had inherited the worst economic situation since the Second World War.

She has warned of painful decisions in her Budget later this month.

…but pound eyes $1.50

The pound could hit $1.50 against the dollar next year, an economist has predicted.

Steven Bell, of Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said sterling has been buoyed by the Bank of England’s caution on interest rate cuts.

But the US Federal Reserve has cut more sharply. It could make further ‘hefty’ reductions, underpinning suggestions the pound ‘could head towards $1.50 in 2025’, said Bell.

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk

Reeves’s gloom hits business as confidence slumps at fastest level since start of the pandemic

…but pound eyes $1.50