Treasury will be breathing 'sigh of relief' as Hunt prepares emergency statement

We haven’t had an economic crisis like this since the 1970s.

Fear of a crash in gilts - government bonds - means the chancellor is “bringing forward measures from the medium-term fiscal plan” to a few hours time, to get debt down.

He will make make an emergency statement - and will also address MPs in the Commons later today.

This is extraordinary. Such a reversal of the mini budget.

Let’s see if investors are reassured.

If they’re not, the PM and whole government is in deep trouble, as are all of us - because it would signal interest rates surging further for all of us.

So far the government bond market is reacting as the chancellor would hope: small rise in yields, de facto interest rates, for short two-year maturities, and bigger fall at ten years. It basically implies investors belatedly believe Bank of England and Treasury are belatedly pulling together, rather than at cross destructive purposes.

But it does of course mean interest rates still on rising course for all of us, but not as much as would have been the case without today’s emergency U-turn by the new chancellor.

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