What impact do you expect the interest rate rise to have on consumer spending and business confidence in London?

Interest rates have risen sharply as the Bank of England responds to inflation at 40-year highs. And long-term market rates soared in the aftermath of the Government’s mini-budget.

Rising interest rates make it harder for companies to borrow to invest and for households to make major purchases. They could also cause hardship to many Londoners with mortgages, compounding the cost-of-living crisis.

Soaring interest rates and high prices are damaging confidence. London Households are more pessimistic than at any point since the Financial Crisis according to GfK. Meanwhile, business confidence is trending downwards and has fallen below long-term averages in the NatWest London PMI.

These figures clearly point to a slowdown in spending by households and investment by businesses. While London’s confidence figures are still more resilient than UK averages, we cannot assume that resilience will last forever.