Well the autumn statement was very much as expected, revisions lower of GDP and a revision higher of inflation as the UK economy continues to grow and continues to perform well. However it lacked any real fireworks, with the biggest headline coming from the chancellors final act which was to abolish the Autumn Statement altogether. The shadow chancellor said that the statement showed 6 years of abject failure.
There were some positive notes like the extra spending on innovation, high speed broadband and spending to make the UK the leader in the role out in the 5G mobile network. However these were accompanied by some additional tax rises, most notably on insurance premiums. It was very much as you were in terms of the budget deficit, as Phillip Hammond announced that debt would rise from 84.2% of GDP last year to 87.3% this year, peaking at 90.2% in 2017-18.
The reaction of the market was pretty subdued as expected with the pound adding around 30 pips before falling on the back of better than expected US data. Traders were waiting for mention of Brexit and what this could mean going forward, that was the only real topic that could cause any big movements in markets, however it didn't come and quite rightly so. There is no data for the chancellor to work off that would give him the ability to forecast anything surrounding a post Brexit Britain.
The biggest headline? The fact that there will be no more Autumn Statement headlines.
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