British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng met fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility today in a move widely seen as an attempt to placate markets.
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The Office for Budget Responsibility – which was not consulted before Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget last week – has confirmed it will give Kwarteng an initial forecast by 7 October.
The Treasury said in a statement, “The Prime Minister and Chancellor reaffirmed their commitment to the independent OBR and made clear that they value its scrutiny.”
Pound falls again
In the wake of the meeting, the Pound fell back by 0.6% after recovering to $1.12 in morning trading.
The official forecaster said in a statement, “ The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee met with the Prime Minister and Chancellor this morning. We discussed the Economic and fiscal outlook and the forecast we are preparing for the Chancellor’s Medium-term Fiscal Plan.
“We will deliver the first iteration of that forecast to the Chancellor on Friday 7 October and will set out the full timetable up to 23 November next week.”
“The forecast will, as always, be based on our independent judgment about economic and fiscal prospects and the impact of the Government’s policies.”
Regaining credibility?
Colin Ellis, chief credit officer for Europe at Moody’s, the credit rating agency, told the Financial Times, “Credibility is easy to lose and can be hard to rebuild. The role and strength of independent institutions is one of the key factors we consider in assessing sovereign ratings.”
The pound fell almost five per cent against the dollar to $1.035, its lowest-ever point, in the wake of the mini-budget.
