European governments’ blanket measures to shield households and businesses from high energy prices could have a significant impact on their public finances if they grow, a senior Fitch Ratings analyst said, Reuters reports.

Federico Barriga-Salazar, the rating agency’s head of Western Europe sovereign ratings, told a webinar the measures so far were “tiny”, ranging from 0.3 per cent of output in Spain to less than 0.01pc of output in France and Britain, reflecting tighter budgets in the latter countries.