Financial markets: Economic indicators
The price of shares and commodities can help show the health of the economy. Find the latest data on the prices of shares, oil and gold.

Monetary policy affects the amount of money in the economy and the costs of borrowing. Find the latest data on interest rates in the UK, US and Eurozone.
Interest rates and monetary policy: Economic indicators (71 KB , PDF)
Economic indicators are quick-read summaries of the latest data focusing on different aspects of the UK economy. The full suite of indicators can be found on the main Economic Indicators page.
Major central banks around the world tightened monetary policy in response to rising inflation, initially caused by higher goods and energy prices, as well as bottlenecks in global supply chains. Beginning in 2023, rates are being cut.
On 6 February, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point from 4.75% to 4.50%. The MPC vote was seven members in favour of this cut and two in favour of a greater 0.5 percentage point cut. The MPC last lowered rates in November 2024.
The MPC’s previous cycle of rate increases – from 0.1% in December 2021 to 5.25% in August 2023 – came in response to high inflation, which peaked at 11.1% in October 2022. Since then, inflation has fallen, and was 2.5% in December 2024 on the CPI measure – above the MPC’s target of 2%.
In new forecasts published 6 February, the Bank of England lowered its GDP growth forecasts for 2025. It also expects the inflation rate to rise to 3.7% by the third quarter of 2025 before easing, tough it is forecast to remain above 2% until the fourth quarter of 2027.
The results of the next scheduled MPC meeting will be announced on 20 March.
The MPC is reducing the size of its asset purchase – or quantitative easing, QE – programme from its peak value of £895bn to £652bn on 29 January 2025. It is doing this by letting some of the government bonds it holds mature and by actively selling some of the bonds it holds to the market. At its September 2024 meeting, the MPC said it planned to reduced the size of the assets it holds by a further £100bn over the year to September 2025.
QE consists of the Bank creating new money electronically (as central bank reserves) and then using it to purchase financial assets, mostly government bonds.
In March 2020 the Bank introduced measures in response to Covid-19. Interest rates were cut to 0.1% – the lowest they have ever been. They remained at this level until December 2021. The MPC also expanded its quantitative easing (QE) programme by £450bn in 2020 and 2021, taking the total value of assets it owned to a peak of £895bn. For more, see section 4.2 of the Library briefing paper, Coronavirus: Economic impact.
Interest rates were left unchanged at a range of 4.25% to 4.50% by the Fed at its policy meeting ending 19 January. Inflation was 2.9% in December, with the Fed saying that inflation “remains somewhat elevated”. Fed chair Jay Powell said they were not in hurry to change policy. The Fed slowed the pace it reduces the assets it holds in its QE programme from $95bn to $60bn per month from June 2024.
The Fed’s next scheduled policy meeting ends on 19 March.
Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fed had by 15 March 2020 cut interest rates to close to 0% from 1.5%‑1.75% prior to the pandemic. On 23 March 2020, the Fed announced a wide range of measures designed to support the economy. This included buying debt from the government, corporations and purchasing other securities (such as those backed by mortgages and other assets). The Fed began to raise rates again in March 2022, taking them from 0-0.25% to 5.25-5.50% in July 2023.
At its 30 January 2025 meeting the ECB cut its main interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point, with the deposit rate lowered from 3.0% to 2.75%. This was the fifth time the ECB has cut rates since its cycle of rate rises ended in September 2023 (the first cut was in June 2024). Further rate cuts are expected during 2025.
The ECB, since March 2023, is unwinding one of its main quantitative easing programmes, with reductions to the overall size of its pandemic-related QE programme in the second half of 2024.
The ECB’s next scheduled policy meeting ends on 6 March.
The ECB launched its pandemic response on 12 March 2020 and expanded it significantly on 18 March and 4 June. The ECB has also made cheap loans available to banks to encourage them to lend to businesses.
In July 2022, the ECB announced the creation of a new bond purchase programme, the Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI). The TPI is designed to be used, if needed, to lower government borrowing costs in individual countries, if these costs are rising due to “unwarranted, disorderly market dynamics”.
This page is updated following monetary policy meetings. The next scheduled meetings are:
Interest rates and monetary policy: Economic indicators (71 KB , PDF)
The price of shares and commodities can help show the health of the economy. Find the latest data on the prices of shares, oil and gold.
Sterling often changes in value relative to other currencies. Find the latest data on exchange rates overall and against the dollar and euro.
Debt levels affect how much households spend. Find the latest data on UK household debt, mortgage rates and insolvencies.