Raw material costs fell 3.2% in April 2000, indicating some serious problems in primary industries, while providing some relief for manufacturing industry.
Personal bankruptcies have started to show their biggest increase since the 1991 recession, with an 11.8% increase in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. This is largely blamed on excessive personal debt and the failure of Internet companies.
Against this, corporate insolvencies for the first quarter were down 7.5% on a year earlier.
UK average earnings grew by an annual rate of 6% which will trigger inflationary pressures if sustained. At its simplest, underlying inflation is wage increases minus productivity increases.
The UK achieved a Budget surplus of £15 billion in the 1999/2000, which is £3 billion more than predicted. This was boosted by record VAT receipts and stamp duty on share dealing. This year, the Budget surplus will be even higher due to the unexpected windfall of £22.5 billion for third generation mobile telephone licences.
House prices did not ease up in April after all, but rose by an annual rate of 17.5% according to Nationwide Building Society.
[2000]