Bank risks overkill without rate cut
1 February 2024
SUGGESTED
Healthcare
Monetary Policy
1 February 2024
Housing and Planning
Shadow Monetary Policy Committee referenced in The Express
The IEA’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee’s (SMPC) unanimous recommendation to cut interest rates has been referenced in The Daily Express, with the Bank of England expected to hold Bank Rate at 5.25 per cent.
The article said:
“Economists at the free-market think tank The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) called on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut the rate to five percent, saying the battle against inflation is over.
“Trevor Williams, chairman of the shadow MPC at the IEA and former chief economist at Lloyds Bank, said: ‘The latest data suggests that the economy likely avoided recession in the last quarter of 2023, but only just.
“‘Forward indicators suggest a risk of a significant undershoot of the two percent inflation target. The current inflation rate is well below what the official November forecasts suggested it would be at this point.
“‘Moreover, inflation will drop to two percent or below a year ahead of projections. In that scenario, an immediate cut in interest rates is necessary and fully justified by the data’.”
Read the full article in The Daily Express (01/02/2024, p.6) or here.
The SMPC’s recommendation was also referenced in The Scottish Daily Express (01/02/2024, p.6), MSN, and The North East Post.
Find out more about the SMPC’s latest meeting here.
The article said:
“Economists at the free-market think tank The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) called on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut the rate to five percent, saying the battle against inflation is over.
“Trevor Williams, chairman of the shadow MPC at the IEA and former chief economist at Lloyds Bank, said: ‘The latest data suggests that the economy likely avoided recession in the last quarter of 2023, but only just.
“‘Forward indicators suggest a risk of a significant undershoot of the two percent inflation target. The current inflation rate is well below what the official November forecasts suggested it would be at this point.
“‘Moreover, inflation will drop to two percent or below a year ahead of projections. In that scenario, an immediate cut in interest rates is necessary and fully justified by the data’.”
Read the full article in The Daily Express (01/02/2024, p.6) or here.
The SMPC’s recommendation was also referenced in The Scottish Daily Express (01/02/2024, p.6), MSN, and The North East Post.
Find out more about the SMPC’s latest meeting here.
SHARE
