Tuesday 24 March 2009

Deflation expected to return to UK for first time in 50 years

Deflation expected to return to UK for first time in 50 years



Deflation is expected to return to the UK for the first time in nearly 50 years with the announcement that prices are falling nationwide rather than increasing.

By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 9:26AM GMT 24 Mar 2009

George Buckley: George Buckley, Deutsche Bank's chief UK economist, told The Daily Telegraph that he is forecasting an RPI reading of -0.7 per cent





The retail price index (RPI) - which measures the average month-to-month change of the prices of goods and services - is thought to have slid into negative figures.

The last time the UK experienced deflation was in 1960 when Harold Macmillan was prime minister.

Inflation expected to fall as oil retreats and VAT cut kicks inThe widely expected downturn follows figures released by the Office for National Statistics in January which showed that RPI increased by just 0.1 per cent compared with the previous year.

Consensus forecasts by leading City economists suggest RPI fell -0.5 per cent in February, forced down by falling mortgage rates and rapidly decreasing house prices.

The latest RPI figures will be released by the ONS at 9.30am.

The Bank of England is worried about the effect deflation could have on indebted families.

It says families with high debts could fall prey to the debt deflation trap. This means that the cost of their debts, which are fixed, would rise compared to average prices throughout the economy.

While inflation erodes debts, deflation makes them relatively higher.

There are also fears that millions of public sector workers - teachers, nurses and council workers - could face pay freezes for the next three years as deflation takes hold.

Public sector pay, which accounts for about a quarter of all public spending, is tied to RPI.

George Buckley, Deutsche Bank's chief UK economist, told The Daily Telegraph that he is forecasting an RPI reading of -0.7 per cent, and believes it could get as low as -4 per cent over the summer months.

Asked if the negative reading will lead to pay freezes, he said: "That's certainly a possibility. You won't see anywhere near the increases in pay that we've been used to. But few are unlikely to see falling pay."

Economists at BNP Paribas warned over the weekend that prices in Britain will continue to fall for another two-and-a-half years.

The French bank's UK economist, Alan Clarke, said that he expected gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by more than four per cent this year, and deflation to linger through to 2012.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5041459/Deflation-expected-to-return-to-UK-for-first-time-in-50-years.html





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