UK Chancellor Healey Prepares Autumn Budget as Projected Fiscal Headroom Halves to £12 Billion

UK Chancellor Healey is set to deliver the autumn budget at 12:30 GMT amid tight fiscal constraints, with projected headroom halving from £24 billion to around £12 billion due to elevated borrowing costs. Financial markets, gilt yields, and sterling are closely monitoring the announcement for debt sustainability and its potential impact on Bank of England monetary policy. Policy measures under consideration include reversing the bank surcharge cut from 8% to 3% to generate over £2 billion annually, tightening online marketplace VAT rules to raise £1 billion, and extending the fuel duty freeze at a cost of £2.7 billion.