NEW British chancellor Rishi Samak will be thrust into the spotlight today in his first Budget as people in many countries across the world are braced for the possibility of recession.
With the numbers affected in the UK by coronavirus only set to increase, consumers and businesses are looking to him to provide some sort of economic solace, let alone stimulus.
And the chancellor is preparing to boost post-Brexit exports for businesses by making £5 billion of loans available.
The Treasury said the money would help exporters to increase their global sales as the UK prepares for life outside the European Union, with the Chancellor helping to top up the purchasing power of those abroad by providing a competitive loan rate through UK Export Finance (Ukef)
The agency's role is to ensure exports do not fail due to a lack of available finance or insurance for those looking to buy up export offers.
It will be the largest increase ever handed to the Ukef, taking its lending power up from £3 billion to £8 billion.
Mr Sunak said: "This decade will provide even more opportunities for British businesses to export and trade with new partners across the world.
"The government will support business to seize these opportunities and thrive on the world stage.
"This package - which is the highest level of export lending the government has ever made available - will provide support to industries and regions across the country."
It comes as stock markets were calmer on Tuesday following one of the biggest routs since the financial crisis and lows not seen on the London Stock Exchange since the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum.
The FTSE 100 index of leading companies, which saw an 8 per cent collapse on Monday, wiping out £150 billion in value, recovered a third of that by lunchtime.
Companies continue to draw up contingency plans and wait nervously for what potential impact Mr Sunak's Budget will have, with many expecting short-term relief, a relaxation of rules and spending on tackling coronavirus.
Meanwhile amid the ongoing oil war between Saudi Arabia and Russia which led to stock markets and oil prices tanking around the world prices are coming down.
And this is being translated to fuel forecourts, with supermarkets Asda cutting prices to a maximum 114.7ppl for petrol and 116.7ppl for diese - their lowest prices since November 2017.
