Scottish Friendly savings expert Jill Mackay comments on this morning's Scottish GDP data
“While’s May’s growth figure looks fairly sluggish (Source 1), Scotland's economy has registered decent growth in the past three (Source 2) months, which is welcome considering the fresh headwinds it faces.
"The escalation of tensions (Source 3) in the Middle East in recent weeks has thrown a spanner in the works of the global economy and the fallout, including the soaring price of oil (Source 4), could weigh on Scottish firms and households.
"If negotiations fail to arrive at a resolution, and trade through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted (Source 5), it would have a knock-on effect on exporting nations such as Scotland (Source 6). It's also likely to lead to higher goods and services prices (Source 7), which would hit Scottish households in the pocket and could force the Bank of England to increase interest rates.
"The real risk now is that it is long and drawn out. Therefore, for households, the priority will likely be making sure that their finances are ready for such an eventuality. That could mean building a financial buffer – if they can – shopping around for a better savings rate or perhaps considering putting any excess cash to work in the stock market; giving access to long-term growth potential (Source 8)."
(1) Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-gdp-may-2026/
(2) Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-gdp-may-2026/
(3) Source: https://abcnews.com/Politics/us-iran-ceasefire-mou-broke-timeline/story?id=134622392
(4) Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/brent-crude-oil
(6) Source:https://www.gov.scot/publications/exports-statistics-scotland-2023/