Cost of living crisis hits household confidence; UK trade with Germany falls; FTSE 100 at two-year high – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

• FTSE 100 closes at two-year high
• BoE chief economist cautions against aggressive' approach to rate hikes
• Households more pessimistic as inflation rises and job security dips
• UK exports and imports with Germany fell last year
• Brexit damaging trade with EU, says public accounts committee
• John Menzies rejects takeover approach... LV=/Royal London talks end

Whether you're renting or buying, the cost of painting your home will have risen, and it's probably going to get worse.

Dulux paint maker AkzoNobel increased its decorative paints pricing by 6% last year, and were 10% higher year-on-year in Q4, as it passed on some of the surge in raw materials costs to customers.

With our full-year 2021 results we delivered a sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth. Our teams were quick to act with strong pricing in response to around 770 million euros of raw material inflation.

This extraordinary achievement allowed us to deliver a 2021 profit in line with prior year. As we continue to drive forward, we are on track to offset this headwind by Q1 2022.