BoE's Breeden: No more rate hikes on the horizon as inflation focus shifts to pay growth

Speech at UK Women in Economics event

Bank of England deputy governor for financial stability Sarah Breeden has said her focus on tackling inflation going forward will shift to wage growth, which she argued remains “elevated”.

Speaking at the UK Women in Economics annual networking event today (7 February), she said the fall in UK inflation - which slightly rose to 4% in December 2023 - was largely driven by a "fading of global inflationary shocks", with energy and food prices significantly detracting from the headline figure. Yet services inflation has remained high at around 6%, especially when compared to the US and eurozone, both of which are hovering at around the 4% mark. Breeden noted the situation in the UK was largely attributable to differences in wage growth, "which is higher in the UK than elsew...