UK economy remains ‘weak and vulnerable to shocks’, KPMG says

The UK economy has performed better than expected this year, but the outlook remains “weak and vulnerable to shocks”, according to the latest KPMG Global Economic Outlook.

UK GDP is expected to continue to grow at a modest pace of 0.5% this year and next, and only pick up to 1.0% in 2025. 

Despite the peak in inflation being gone, a large part of the impact from higher interest rates on mortgage holders is still to come, which will put downward pressure on housing activity and consumption, and will continue to depress growth.

Headline CPI inflation dropped to 4.6% in October on the back of lower energy prices, which means that the UK is no longer an outlier when compared to other major economies. However, domestic influences continue to keep core inflation elevated, including tightness in the labour market, strong services price inflation, and firms passing on higher costs onto consumers.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said: “While the UK economy is resilient, it needs to get its mojo back. We expect monetary and fiscal policies to act as a headwind to growth over the next two years, and a sudden revival in productivity is not likely to come to the rescue. This means that even the expected continuation of positive growth should not be celebrated prematurely, as the outlook is dominated by downside risks.”

The latest forecast from KPMG reveals that a significant uplift in global growth is unlikely in 2024 with no short-term end in sight to geopolitical uncertainty and tight monetary policies. KPMG forecasts global GDP growth of 2.2% in 2024 – down from 2.6% in 2023, with a return to 2.6% growth anticipated in 2025. 

Weaker economic momentum has helped ease supply chain pressures and reduce broader cost pressures, with energy prices dropping significantly from their 2022 peak when Russia invaded Ukraine. Median CPI inflation for the G20 countries fell to 3.9% in October 2023 after peaking at 7.7% in July 2022, and further deceleration is expected in coming months.

The report sees world inflation averaging 5.0% in 2024 and 3.9% in 2025, down from an estimated 6.5% in 2023 and 8.0% in 2022. Risks are on the upside, however, as any further shocks to energy prices – or a more persistent domestic inflation in some countries – could derail the relatively smooth return to central banks’ inflation targets next year.

Selfin said: “Our latest forecast reflects the multiple underlying factors driving uncertainty and sluggish growth across the world. In the short term inflation may be easing, but it’s coming at a cost, with consumer spending dropping and the cost of debt rising.

“Businesses are having to navigate a changing geopolitical environment, new hybrid working preferences, ESG adoption, as well as emerging technologies such as AI and big data. All these changes require increased investment, but most of them could potentially increase productivity and economic growth in the long term.”