020 7898 0500It is often the case that speeches given by policymakers are a subdued affair, but yesterday, a leading BoE policymaker called for a tightening of monetary policy without delay. Ian McCafferty said that faster pay rises and an ever-improving global economy called for an interest rate rise in the near future.
It seems almost certain that UK interest rates will rise in May, but it will be interesting to see whether there are any additional rate rises as the year progresses. How the UK’s economy performs will obviously be an important factor, but not everyone is agreed on the best way forward. It is all well and good citing the improving global economy, but the UK has fallen to the bottom of the G7 economies in recent times; is it better to see how wage growth and inflation play out before making any concrete decisions?
Today we have the balance of trade for February which is expected to contract from £3.074 billion to £2.6 billion. We will also see the construction, manufacturing and production figures for February; all are expected to have grown year-on-year.
