MNI BRIEF: UK Sunak: Energy Prices Key To Next Fiscal Boost

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, under fire for only partially offsetting the hit to living standards primarily from higher energy prices in his Spring Statement, held the door wide open to further fiscal support in the Autumn Budget, stressing that it was dependent on what happened to energy prices.

Sunak, giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, defended his desire to lower the budget deficit saying that "an excessive amount of borrowing now is not the responsible thing to do ... because it may risk stoking inflation even further."

UK household energy costs are restricted by the energy price cap, which will be reset in October. He said that estimates for the price cap range from around GBP2,000 to GBP3,500, highlighting the uncertainty around it. It was hard "to speculate on what happens to energy prices, and therefore the biggest impact on living standards, in the Autumn. Let's wait until we get there and then we can decide on the most appropriate course of action.," he said.