Published On : 02/01/2024

QUOTES-Bailey speaks after Bank of England holds rates at 5.25%

LONDON (Reuters) – Governor Andrew Bailey and other top Bank of England officials spoke to reporters after the British central bank held its key interest rate at 5.25% on Thursday.

Below are quotes from Bailey at the press conference.

“We’ve had some good news over the past few months. Inflation has fallen a long way from 10% a year ago to 4% now. Things are moving in the right direction.”

“We have to be more confident that inflation will fall all the way back to the 2% target and stay there, and we’re not yet at a point where we can lower interest rates.”

“The level of bank rate remains appropriate. Any decision to change bank rate will depend on how the evidence evolves … we must get inflation back to the 2% target sustainably and we will do that.”

“Services price inflation tends to be persistent and it remains elevated…so it’s not as simple as inflation returns to target in the spring, and the job is done.”

“For me, the key question has moved from: how restrictive do we need to be? to, how long do we need to maintain this position for?”

“I’m very clear that the decision and the question we face now is for how long we have to maintain this stance, and we will not maintain it any longer than we need to do to achieve the objective of inflation being at 2% on a sustained basis.”

“Inflation has come down faster than we thought it would and that’s good news. We need to sustain that, but consistent with that good news we have removed the, what you might call bias we had before, which is that we thought the next move might be up more likely than down, and that’s gone.”

“We don’t need to see inflation back at target sustainably, we need to see it showing very clear evidence it’s heading to there.”

“We could cut interest rates and policy would still be restrictive. I mean, it’s the degrees of restriction.”

(Compiled by Farouq Suleiman and Muvija M, editing by Sarah Young)

Jessica Weisman-Pitts

Jesse Pitts has been with the Global Banking & Finance Review since 2016, serving in various capacities, including Graphic Designer, Content Publisher, and Editorial Assistant. As the sole graphic designer for the company, Jesse plays a crucial role in shaping the visual identity of Global Banking & Finance Review. Additionally, Jesse manages the publishing of content across multiple platforms, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune.