The UK central bank kept its key rate steady at 0.1% and its bond-buying target unchanged at £745bn on 6 August but warned that the country’s economy wouldn’t rise back to its 2019 level before the end of 2021. It also gave the clearest signal yet that it no longer considers negative rates as taboo.

The Bank of England’s short-term prospects for the UK economy are, however, less sombre than they were three months ago, with unemployment at the end of the year seen at 7.5% of the population (versus 10% previously).