{"id":4247,"date":"2024-03-15T13:01:07","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T11:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247"},"modified":"2024-03-15T13:01:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T11:01:07","slug":"bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247","title":{"rendered":"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bank of England<\/strong> will probably keep investors guessing next week about when it is likely to start cutting interest rates as it waits for clearer signs that inflation pressures still in the economy really are being quashed.<\/p>\n

With other central banks moving towards cutting borrowing costs for the first time since the COVID pandemic, and inflation set to fall to its 2 per cent target soon, the BoE has put its high rates \u201cunder review\u201d.Governor Andrew Bailey maintained the tentatively optimistic tone this week when he said inflation expectations seemed to be under control and worries about a price-wage spiral were easing.But Bailey showed no urgency about cutting Bank Rate from a 16-year high of 5.25 per cent, saying problems with labour market data left him unsure about the jobless rate. He also cited geopolitical risks.\u201cThis is why it\u2019s so important to consider this question about how restrictive do we have to be, and for how long,\u201d Bailey said on Tuesday.He and five other rate-setters voted to keep the Bank Rate on hold in February, while two sought a further increase and one voted for a cut.Analysts predict another 6-2-1 split next Thursday, resulting in a fifth consecutive \u201chold\u201d decision, although inflation data on Wednesday could cause a late rethink.The BoE expects price growth will slow to its 2 per cent target in the second quarter after April\u2019s drop in the cost of regulated energy. But it forecasts a rise to almost 3 per cent later in 2024.Inflation hit a peak of 11.1 per cent in October 2022, prompting criticism that the BoE\u2019s forecasting models had failed.The central bank remains worried that fast-growing wages still pose a risk. Britain\u2019s minimum wage will rise by nearly 10 per cent next month, and supermarkets and other retailers that pay staff only slightly more have raised pay in anticipation.Employers overall have offered pay settlements of about 5 per cent since the start of 2024. Average wage growth is about 6 per cent, higher than about 4 per cent in the United States and the eurozone.Former BoE deputy governor Charlie Bean said Britain\u2019s pay growth was about double the level consistent with 2 per cent inflation.\u201cI would emphasise that this episode is not over yet, and it\u2019s perhaps a little early to be declaring victory,\u201d Bean said.BOE SEEN MOVING MORE SLOWLY<\/strong>So far, calls for the BoE to move more quickly towards rate cuts have been limited.Britain\u2019s economy seems to be emerging already from a short recession.Finance minister Jeremy Hunt \u2013 with an eye on an election expected in 2024 \u2013 announced a second set of tax cuts in under four months last week. Analysts say that will give a moderate boost to consumers.But with the European Central Bank debating whether to cut rates in April or June and investors expecting the US Federal Reserve to move in June, the BoE may soon be lagging behind.Economists at HSBC said they thought inflation would fall to as low as 1.2 per cent in May and June, then pick up later in the year, potentially putting the BoE in a bind.\u201cWhile we expect the Committee largely to \u2018look through\u2019 this energy-driven inflation dip, it would make the communications behind a prolonged \u2018on hold\u2019 stance more challenging,\u201d they said.Economists polled by Reuters mostly expect it to start cutting rates only in the third quarter, although 40 per cent of the respondents expected a first move in the second quarter.Investors are not fully pricing a quarter-point cut until August.Luke Bartholomew, senior economist at fund management firm abrdn, said conflicting signals about Britain\u2019s economy meant the BoE was likely to carry on treading cautiously.\u201cWe expect the BoE to wait until at least June before delivering the first interest rate cut as it waits for a stronger signal from the data, and for the impact of the April price and wage round to become clearer,\u201d he said.The BoE will announce its March monetary policy decision at 1200 GMT on Thursday. There will be no press conference on this occasion as no new economic forecasts are due to be published.Follow the
\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bank of England is expected to maintain uncertainty about when it will start reducing interest rates, awaiting clearer evidence that inflation pressures are diminishing. Despite other central banks moving towards cutting borrowing costs post-COVID pandemic and inflation projected to decrease to the 2% target soon, the BoE has labeled its high rates as “under review.” Governor Andrew Bailey expressed a cautiously optimistic outlook, noting inflation expectations appear controlled and concerns over a price-wage spiral are lessening. However, Bailey indicated no rush to lower the Bank Rate from its 16-year peak of 5.25%, citing labor market data uncertainties and geopolitical risks. In February, the decision to keep the Bank Rate steady was supported by six rate-setters, with two advocating for an increase and one for a reduction. Analysts anticipate a similar 6-2-1 vote split in the next decision, potentially influenced by upcoming inflation data. The BoE forecasts inflation to slow to 2% in the second quarter following a decrease in regulated energy costs but expects a rise to almost 3% later in 2024. Inflation reached a high of 11.1% in October 2022. The central bank remains concerned about the risk posed by fast-growing wages, with Britain’s minimum wage set to increase by nearly 10% and employers offering pay settlements of about 5% since the start of 2024. Former BoE deputy governor Charlie Bean highlighted that Britain’s pay growth is roughly double the level consistent with 2% inflation. The BoE is seen as moving more slowly towards rate cuts compared to other central banks, with the British economy showing signs of recovery from a short recession. Finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced tax cuts to moderately boost consumers. The European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve are contemplating rate cuts, potentially placing the BoE behind. Economists at HSBC predict inflation could drop to as low as 1.2% in May and June before rising later in the year, challenging the BoE’s communication on maintaining its current stance. A Reuters poll shows economists mostly expect rate cuts to begin in the third quarter, with 40% anticipating a move in the second quarter. Investors do not fully expect a quarter-point cut until August. The BoE’s March monetary policy decision will be announced without a press conference, as no new economic forecasts are due to be published.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1902,47,611,1056,195,461,432,3,1992,26,1600,358,51,1610,52,569,518,308,250,1823,67,2020,899,374,1401,839,1821,16,1215,375,1817,1065,544,380,1774,1198],"class_list":["post-4247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-bank","tag-bank-of-england","tag-banks","tag-borrowing-costs","tag-britain","tag-british","tag-covid","tag-cyprus","tag-decrease","tag-economy","tag-election","tag-energy","tag-european-central-bank","tag-evidence","tag-federal-reserve","tag-finance","tag-finance-minister","tag-geopolitical","tag-google","tag-increase","tag-inflation","tag-inflation-pressures","tag-interest","tag-interest-rate","tag-interest-rates","tag-labour","tag-labour-market","tag-minimum-wage","tag-poll","tag-rate-cut","tag-split","tag-tax","tag-united-states","tag-us","tag-vote","tag-wage-growth"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\nBank of England set to play for time before first rate cut<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"interest rates. interest rates, inflation pressures, Bank of England\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"interest rates. interest rates, inflation pressures, Bank of England\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ch.jfdi.cc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-15T11:01:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1212\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cyprus Mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cyprus Mail\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cyprus Mail\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/606e0fbe40ab1cad97176ec3e4e248f8\"},\"headline\":\"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-15T11:01:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247\"},\"wordCount\":710,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"bank\",\"Bank of England\",\"banks\",\"borrowing costs\",\"Britain\",\"British\",\"covid\",\"Cyprus\",\"decrease\",\"Economy\",\"election\",\"Energy\",\"European Central Bank\",\"evidence\",\"Federal Reserve\",\"finance\",\"finance minister\",\"geopolitical\",\"Google\",\"increase\",\"inflation\",\"inflation pressures\",\"interest\",\"interest rate\",\"interest rates\",\"Labour\",\"labour market\",\"minimum wage\",\"Poll\",\"rate cut\",\"split\",\"tax\",\"United States\",\"US\",\"vote\",\"wage growth\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cyprus\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247\",\"name\":\"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-15T11:01:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/606e0fbe40ab1cad97176ec3e4e248f8\"},\"description\":\"interest rates. interest rates, inflation pressures, Bank of England\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg\",\"width\":1212,\"height\":850,\"caption\":\"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?p=4247#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/\",\"name\":\"ch.jfdi.cc\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/606e0fbe40ab1cad97176ec3e4e248f8\",\"name\":\"Cyprus Mail\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cyprus-mail.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ch.jfdi.cc\\\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut","description":"interest rates. interest rates, inflation pressures, Bank of England","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut","og_description":"interest rates. interest rates, inflation pressures, Bank of England","og_url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247","og_site_name":"ch.jfdi.cc","article_published_time":"2024-03-15T11:01:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1212,"height":850,"url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cyprus Mail","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cyprus Mail","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247"},"author":{"name":"Cyprus Mail","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#\/schema\/person\/606e0fbe40ab1cad97176ec3e4e248f8"},"headline":"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut","datePublished":"2024-03-15T11:01:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247"},"wordCount":710,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg","keywords":["bank","Bank of England","banks","borrowing costs","Britain","British","covid","Cyprus","decrease","Economy","election","Energy","European Central Bank","evidence","Federal Reserve","finance","finance minister","geopolitical","Google","increase","inflation","inflation pressures","interest","interest rate","interest rates","Labour","labour market","minimum wage","Poll","rate cut","split","tax","United States","US","vote","wage growth"],"articleSection":["Cyprus"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247","url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247","name":"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-15T11:01:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#\/schema\/person\/606e0fbe40ab1cad97176ec3e4e248f8"},"description":"interest rates. interest rates, inflation pressures, Bank of England","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/bank-of-england-set-to-play-for-time-before-first-rate-cut.jpg","width":1212,"height":850,"caption":"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=4247#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bank of England set to play for time before first rate cut"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/","name":"ch.jfdi.cc","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/#\/schema\/person\/606e0fbe40ab1cad97176ec3e4e248f8","name":"Cyprus Mail","sameAs":["https:\/\/cyprus-mail.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?author=3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}