Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the rise in the yields on 30-year gilts to 5.38 per cent, their highest point since 1998, and of the effect of this on sterling.

The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields and the value of sterling are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price of sterling and the yields of gilts to fluctuate when there are wider movements in the global financial markets.

The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.