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The Chancellor said \u201cthe numbers are definitely worse than what I faced in the spring\u201d as he deals with billions of pounds of higher debt interest payments and a sluggish economy.<\/p>\n
Mr Hunt insisted the long-term outlook is strong as long as \u201cdifficult decisions\u201d are taken now.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Marrakech, Morocco, as he met international finance ministers, he said: \u201cThe international situation calls for prudence in the way we manage our finances,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe financial picture I face is worse than in the spring and that means I will have to take different positions to make sure, in the face of what\u2019s happening in Ukraine, Israel and parts of Africa, that we are resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Hunt, who was attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings, said it was a \u201cvery challenging environment\u201d in the short term.<\/p>\n
Government debt interest \u201cis likely to be \u00a320 billion to \u00a330 billion higher this year than we predicted in the spring\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
The Chancellor, who will give his autumn statement next month, said the economy has proved to be \u201cmuch more resilient\u201d than nearly every international organisation predicted.<\/p>\n
But he said inflation is still too high and international instability means \u201cthere is still a lot of shocks\u201d.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our Whatsapp community to be the first to receive the latest politics news<\/strong><\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/strong> Jeremy Hunt hails economy outstripping French growth but issues fresh warning<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSo I need, as Chancellor, to focus on reliance in the face of those shocks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cI am very much hoping for the best, but I do need to prepare for the worst, because I think we can see that the world is a very dangerous place right now.<\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers are definitely worse than what I faced in the spring.<\/p>\n \u201cOur debt interest is likely to be \u00a320 billion to \u00a330 billion higher this year than we predicted in the spring. So yes, it\u2019s a very challenging environment in the short term.<\/p>\n \u201cBut my approach to this is to say we will manage those short-term pressures whilst at the same time building for the long term, doing the things that mean that we can be confident we will be a successful and prosperous economy going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd as I look at the exciting things that are happening in the longer term in the British economy, I have a great deal of confidence providing we take the difficult decisions necessary to get inflation down, to get our borrowing back under control. If we do these kinds of things then we can be very confident of our future.\u201d<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said the UK is in a better position than it was a year ago, when the mini-budget caused chaos.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom an economic point of view, if we look back over the last year I would say I\u2019m probably the one person that can come in here and say things really do look better today than they did on this day last year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can say that with some confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Bailey has previously spoken about his experience of last year\u2019s IMF meeting in Washington, which happened shortly after then-prime minister Liz Truss and then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng\u2019s mini-budget.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople were saying, \u2018We didn\u2019t think the UK would do this\u2019,\u201d he told the Treasury Select Committee last year.<\/p>\n On Friday, he said there are signs inflation is coming down but there is much left to do.<\/p>\n He said the Bank\u2019s policy will continue to be \u201crestrictive\u201d.<\/p>\n Mr Bailey added: \u201cWe have made, I think, particularly in the last few months, solid progress in terms of showing signs that inflation is being tackled.<\/p>\n \u201cBut let\u2019s not get carried away because there\u2019s an awful lot still to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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