Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is continuing to boost prices and spending among British consumers and challenge the Bank of England’s (BoE) efforts to curb inflation.
As investment bank TD Securities notes, when hundreds of thousands of Swifties (as Taylor Swift’s fans are known) flocked to London in August to experience live shows, the economic momentum That could cause the BoE to delay the upcoming interest rate cut.
“We initially expected the BoE to cut interest rates in August, but inflation data for that month could cause the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) to delay it well beyond September,” the strategist said. macroeconomics Lucas Krishan and James Rossiter of TD Securities wrote in a note.
The Bank of England plans to soon loosen monetary policy from a 16-year high of 5.25%. Of 65 economists polled by Reuters, 63 believe the BoE will cut in August, while financial markets are betting on September.
However, Taylor Swift’s performances in the UK in August will certainly have an impact and change important inflation data, enough to make the BoE rethink its intentions.
“The spike in hotel prices will then be the most notable factor, potentially adding 0.30 percentage points to service inflation and 0.15 percentage points to overall inflation.” , strategists Lucas Krishan and James Rossiter emphasized.
Latest data cited by TD Securities shows that hotel prices in Scotland rose more than expected during the show last weekend, while pressure increased on prices in Liverpool – where Taylor Swift ended her regional tour. Northwest England – somewhat gentler.
Taylor Swift will also perform in Cardiff, Wales and London later this month. Although the date of the Cardiff concert may coincide with the release of the June inflation index, analysts say the impact on the index will be minimal because of the city’s relatively small economic size. .
The BoE did not comment specifically when contacted, but said that the MPC will consider a range of economic indicators when making its decision on interest rates.
The economic impact of Taylor Swift’s famous tour has been well documented, with terms such as “Swiftflation” and “Swiftonomics” emerging in recent times. . These terms refer to an increase in spending on services such as hotels, airline tickets and restaurants in cities where Taylor Swift holds concerts.
In Edinburgh and Scotland – where the Grammy-winning singer began her UK tour earlier this month – concerts and related spending are estimated to have brought in around £77 million to the economy. local.
In a separate note, Barclays bank said Taylor Swift’s entire UK tour could add about 1 billion pounds to the country’s economy.
The Bank of England will begin its meeting on June 20 to make a new interest rate decision and announce the outlook for future inflation developments.