Healey’s £4.4bn cost living support package ‘badly targeted,’ says Resolution Foundation – business live

AI desk brief

UK budget support is being described as poorly targeted, with typical net energy bills forecast at £1,750 in 2026-27, still above the last energy shock, while living standards are set to fall later in the parliament. The macro backdrop remains supportive of sticky inflation: the Fed held rates near multi-decade highs, the ECB is expected to stay on hold but is still seen hiking further, and policymakers are explicitly focused on preventing the Iran-war oil shock from feeding through to prices and wages.

Brent fell 0.6% to $114.62/bbl on hopes of renewed peace talks, but the article frames energy as a persistent inflation risk rather than a resolved one. For metals, the near-term implication is mixed-to-negative: higher-for-longer rates and a firmer inflation backdrop keep real-yield pressure on gold, even as geopolitical risk can offer episodic support.