Bailey splits opinion on hikes with 'specifically vague' speech

‘Open relationship’ with future policy

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey has brought further uncertainty to the central bank's future path for rate hikes with a “specifically vague” speech.

In a speech given at Brunswick Group's Cost of Living Conference yesterday (1 March), the central bank's governor was uncharacteristically vague, refusing to indicate whether the bank would continue to raise rates further or end the hiking cycle. In his speech, Bailey said: "I would caution against suggesting either that we are done with increasing bank rate, or that we will inevitably need to do more. Some further increase in bank rate may turn out to be appropriate, but nothing is decided." This speech led many analysts and the media to take opposite opinions on the contents of the ...