April 10, 2025

US Travel Crashes Inflation In Mar-25
- Downside news from February’s US CPI print extended into a March crash with a 0.2pp undershoot at -0.05% m-o-m, not just because of a 2.4% m-o-m fall in energy prices.
- Hotels joined another sharp fall in airfares to drive the core inflation weakness. The late Easter appears responsible, similar to 2023, ahead of an April resurgence.
- Market participants are unusually unfazed by data that does not reveal the impact of substantial policy changes. Resilience should damp dovish hopes for cuts returning.
By Philip Rush
April 08, 2025

UK: Spillover effects from US tariffs
- The UK output destroyed by reciprocal US tariffs is only partly due to the direct impact of the new 10% rate (worth ~0.2% of GDP) and generally weaker US prospects (0.1%).
- Global GDP growth is depressed by this policy, indirectly destroying demand for UK exports from elsewhere (0.2%), especially if countries harm themselves by retaliating.
- An overall 0.6% GDP hit has two-sided risks and a skew lowered by likely negotiations. Fears of items dumping into the UK market are overblown excuses for protectionism.
By Philip Rush
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