The global interest rate cutting cycle has begun, but there is little sign that the Bank of England is ready to jump on board. How much longer will the UK have to wait? This question became even more pressing last week when the European Central Bank (ECB) trimmed official rates in the euro area for … Continue reading Has the Bank of England missed the boat?
Tag: MPC
UK economy ‘turns the corner’
First, the good news (and the news is mainly good today). The unexpectedly large 0.6% bounce in GDP in the first quarter of the year means that the UK economy has officially exited ‘recession’, after declines of 0.1% in Q3 and 0.3% in Q4 2023. This has already led to some more positive headlines, which … Continue reading UK economy ‘turns the corner’
Bank of England tees up rate cuts – at last
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left its key interest rate on hold at 5¼% this week, as expected, but there are some clear signals that cuts are coming soon. For a start, Dave Ramsden (Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking) joined Swati Dhingra in voting for an immediate reduction to 5%. This … Continue reading Bank of England tees up rate cuts – at last
Bank of England edges towards a summer rate cut
The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to leave interest rates on hold at 5.25% this week was unsurprising, but there were some welcome hints that cuts are coming soon. The market reaction was consistent with the slight dovish tilt: 2-5 year government bond yields fell about 5 basis points (these correlate closely with the cost of … Continue reading Bank of England edges towards a summer rate cut
Plain-speaking Economics 