King hints at inflation target upheaval

The outgoing governor of the Bank of England (BoE), Mervyn King, has said it may be time to review the UK's inflation target, but rejected a suggestion by his successor that central bankers should abandon inflation targeting altogether in times of economic crisis.

King (pictured), who steps down at the end of June, pointed out it had been more than two decades since the UK's existing inflation target of 2% was introduced. "It has now come of age," he said. "It would be sensible to review the arrangements for setting monetary policy." But King added that retaining a target was an important ingredient for economic growth. It follows a suggestion by Mark Carney, the current Bank of Canada governor who takes over from King on 1 July, for alternatives to targeting low inflation, though he said his remarks were not country-specific. Carney propose...