MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden highlighted a weakening labour market and slow economic growth in an interview published on Saturday, adding that “waves of disinflation are continuing”.
She told the Sunday Times that the central bank’s narrative about continuing interest rate cuts was “not a million miles away from where the market is”.
Breeden, deputy governor for financial stability, is widely regarded as a centrist on the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee.
In May, she voted with the majority to cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, in a three-way split vote where two members voted to hold rates, and another two voted for a larger cut.
“The big picture, the landscape on which I’m thinking about policy, is that the waves of disinflation are continuing,” Breeden said.
“I think the labour market is loosening. We’ve seen unemployment rise a little bit, and in addition we’ve got relatively weak growth.”
She added that she had no pre-determined path for interest rates.
Financial markets on Friday priced between two and three more quarter-point interest rate cuts between now and the end of the year, while a Reuters poll of economists published last week pointed to two.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce,Edirting by Franklin Paul)
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