Andy Bruce

British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday she was confident that U.S.-UK trade and investment would not be derailed as President Donald Trump threatens to retaliate against what he sees as barriers to U.S. exports.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said in an interview published on Monday that inflation was slowing and an expected pick-up in price growth later this year was unlikely to embed longer-term inflation pressures in the economy.

The United States views trade ties with Britain "in a different light" because it does not have a large deficit with the country, but difficult issues remain on tariffs, a senior British cabinet minister said on Sunday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to overrule his finance minister Rachel Reeves and order more defence spending, after the United States demanded that Europe pays more for its security, the Sunday Times reported.

Britain published a major consultation for its steel industry on Sunday, weeks ahead of schedule due to President Donald Trump's announcement of fresh tariffs on all steel imports into the United States.

Britain entered a rare deficit in its goods trade with the United States at the end of last year, according to data published on Thursday that London will hope bolsters its case against the imposition of new tariffs by President Donald Trump.

Britain's housing market slowed noticeably in January as house price growth and buyer demand cooled, according to a survey of chartered surveyors.

British lenders approved more mortgages than expected in December and net mortgage lending volumes rose by the most in more than two years, according to Bank of England data that echoed other signs of demand in the housing market.

The Bank of England looks likely to cut interest rates next week, when it could also nudge investors to expect faster reductions than they currently predict as the economy flatlines.

A clear majority of British businesses look set to cut the size of pay awards for staff in response to coming tax hikes and they remain pessimistic about the outlook for the economy, two surveys showed on Monday.