QUOTES-Bank of England press conference after rate hike

All options are on the table for our September meeting, and beyond that." BAILEY ON BANK INDEPENDENCE "One of the great strengths of being an independent central Bank is actually, you know, the political pressures have been very well managed throughout the life of the MPC in my view. "And obviously, we've had many governments throughout that life.


Reuters | London | Updated: 04-08-2022 18:01 IST | Created: 04-08-2022 17:34 IST
QUOTES-Bank of England press conference after rate hike
Bank of England Image Credit: Wikimedia
  • Country:
  • United Kingdom

The Bank of England raised interest rates by the most in 27 years on Thursday, despite warning that a long recession is on its way, as it rushed to smother a rise in inflation which is now set to top 13%. Below are quotes from Governor Andrew Bailey and deputy governors Ben Broadbent and Dave Ramsden.

BAILEY ON INFLATION IMPACT "If we don't bring inflation back to target ... it's going to get worse, and it will get worse precisely, I'm afraid, for those who are least well off in society."

"While I have a huge sympathy and huge understanding for those who are struggling most with this, and I know that they will feel well, why have you raised interest rates today? Doesn't that make it worse, from that perspective, in terms of consumption? I'm afraid it doesn't, because, I'm afraid the alternative is even worse, in terms of persistent inflation." BAILEY ON INFLATION TARGET

"Returning inflation to the 2% target remains our absolute priority. There are no ifs and buts about that." "All options are on the table for our September meeting and beyond that."

BAILEY ON FUTURE RATE HIKES "Overall a faster pace of policy tightening at this meeting will help to bring inflation back to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term."

"Looking ahead, that does not mean we're now moving to a predetermined path of raising bank rate by 50 basis points per meeting, or indeed any other number for that matter." "Policy is not on a preset path. And what we do this time does not tell you what we're going to do next time. All options are on the table for our September meeting, and beyond that."

BAILEY ON BANK INDEPENDENCE "One of the great strengths of being an independent central Bank is actually, you know, the political pressures have been very well managed throughout the life of the MPC in my view.

"And obviously, we've had many governments throughout that life. That is the best way to manage it in my view. So no, I don't really want to put emphasis on political pressures. "One of the great virtues of our system is that the Bank of England takes these decisions independently, respecting, of course, the importance of the remit."

BROADBENT ON TRADE-OFFS "We are facing, and have for some time been facing, these ever increasing trade-off inducing shocks .... they are intrinsically shocks, which in the near term push up inflation but also weaken growth."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Give Feedback