By Paul Hannon
The Bank of England is seeing progress in taming U.K. inflation, but needs to see more evidence as a rate cut becomes an option over the summer months, BOE Chief Economist Huw Pill said Tuesday.
Speaking to business people, Pill said figures released earlier Tuesday showed progress in cooling the jobs market and wage rises, but there was still some progress required before inflation is under control.
"It's not unreasonable to believe that through the summer, Bank rate will come under consideration," Pill said.
The chief economist noted that there will be further data releases on the jobs market and inflation before policy makers next meet in June.
"We'll have two rounds that the committee will evaluate very carefully," he said.
Following its June meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee next meets in early August.
The MPC last week left its key rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, despite a rapid decline in the inflation rate that it estimates was close to its 2% target in April. Policy makers worry that large rises in wages will push prices of labor-intensive services higher for a prolonged period.
Write to Paul Hannon at paul.hannon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-14-24 0436ET
