Inflation

The Bank of England's (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously voted to increase interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75%, the highest level in almost a decade.

Sterling has fallen on the back of inflation figures released this morning, which show the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained steady at 2.4% in June.

UK inflation stuck at 2.4% in May, missing analysts' estimates of a move higher and further cooling expectations on an interest rate hike from the Bank of England this summer.

UK consumer price inflation fell 0.1 percentage points in April to 2.4%, a fresh one-year low and missing economists' expectations of inflation remaining at 2.5%.

Rates remain at 0.5%

Granting statutory protection to pre-1997 benefits in defined benefit (DB) schemes would be an unfair cost to sponsors and would force even more closures, according to this weeks' Pensions Buzz respondents.

In this week's Pensions Buzz, we want to know if pre-1997 pension benefits should receive statutory protection against inflation.

UK inflation fell to 2.7% in February 2018 from 3% a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed, a larger decline than analysts expected.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised up the UK's GDP growth forecast for 2018 in today's inaugural Spring Statement, while forecasting inflation will fall to 2% by the end of 2018.

The £60bn Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has made a follow-on investment in Yorkshire Water inflation-linked notes, backed by inflation swap cash flows, to secure long-term returns.