The Bank of England must contend with a slowdown in Britain's economy but also stubborn inflation pressures when it considers whether to cut interest rates in early February as well as its message about the outlook for the rest of the year.

Markets are greatly underestimating the likelihood that the Bank of England will need to speed up the pace of interest rate cuts, Goldman Sachs has argued. They forecast that UK interest rates could drop to 3.

The Bank of England will cut interest rates four times this year to support a flat-lining economy, economists polled by Reuters said, but they added that risks to inflation are to the upside, suggesting policymakers may end up doing less.

Alan Taylor, the most recently appointed member of the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) said the UK is 'in the last half mile on inflation' and called for a pre-emptive cut

The fall in the headline rate of inflation from 2.6 percent to 2.5 percent was unexpected and positive news for the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

The disappointing retail data adds to the dim economic picture in the U.K. and to the challenges facing Finance Minister Rachel Reeves.

A weaker UK economy is expected to prompt the Bank of England to accelerate interest rate cuts; Goldman Sachs predicts up to six reductions by the end of next year. The investment bank’s analysts think that as inflationary pressures continue and economic growth slows,