27 February 2023 - Hunt receives £10 bln budget boost

There is a growing level of anticipation that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will be able to be significantly more expansive in the budget that he will present to Parliament on 15th March. He will have far more wiggle room and will now have several choices to make, where recently he was expected to have little choice to do anything other than stave off the country’s likely fall into recession. The sum of money that Hunt will have at his disposal following the almost miraculous recovery since the start of the year is reported as being ten billion pounds, although there are some in the press who put the figure at twenty-five billion. It will be a major bonus for Hunt to have choices when he sets out the fiscal policy for the next year. Having already committed to retaining the triple lock on state pensions which means that they will rise by the highest of inflation, average wages, and 2.5%. Following the significant rise in inflation, pensioners will receive a 10% increase in their pension in April. Beyond Currency Market Commentary: Aims to provide deep insights into the political and economic events worldwide that can cause currencies to change and how this can affect your FX Exposure.