BoE's Huw Pill: 'Path of inflation may be bumpier than we expect'

'Material upside surprise'

The Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill has said the path of inflation “may be bumpier” than expected, although he noted it is likely to fall in the second quarter as large rises in energy prices from last year drop out of the annual comparison.

Speaking in a video conference hosted by Market News on Thursday (13 April), he said the UK CPI reading of 10.4% in February was a "material upside surprise" to the Bank's February MPR projection. Core inflation remains high, rising to 6.2% and services inflation at 6.6%.  He also said that the most recent economic data, particularly the stagnation of GDP in February published yesterday, is "somewhat disappointing" even if it is still higher than what the Bank had predicted at the end of last year. "That is of course somewhat disappointing from an overall point of view, but I think it...