BoE’s Pill: Summer rate cut not unreasonable

BoE’s Chief Economist Huw Pill suggested today that it is “not unreasonable” for central bank to consider rate cuts over the summer. However, he emphasized the critical need for to maintain a “restrictive stance” on monetary policy to address persistent domestic inflation pressures.

Pill’s comments come against the backdrop of newly released data, which he referenced in his remarks. “We actually got some additional data this morning that would be consistent with a small additional decline in the first quarter,” he said, pointing to the latest figures on private sector regular pay growth.

This data indicates a slight cooling in the labor market, although Pill noted that it “still remains pretty tight by historical standards.” He emphasized that “rates of pay growth remain quite well above what would be consistent for meeting the 2% inflation target sustainably.”