–Sentance Welcomes MPC Member Martin Weale Voting For Rate Hike
–Divisions On MPC; Wait For Feb MPC Minutes For Clarity On Them
LONDON, (MNI) – Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member
Andrew Sentance said growth and inflation have moved in the direction of
strengthening the case for a UK rate hike.
Sentance alone on the MPC backed a rate hike until the January MPC
meeting, when he was joined by Martin Weale.
In a question and answer session at an Institute of Economic
Affairs event, Sentance welcomed Weale’s support and said there were
divisions on the MPC, the full extent of which would become clear when
the February minutes are published next week.
“You will get a complete picture of the views on the Monetary
Policy Committee when the minutes are out …But. .. the Governor
(Mervyn King) made clear that there are differences of views on the
Monetary Policy Committee,” Sentance said.
“I was very pleased to see that Martin Weale joined me in the
position of supporting a rate rise at the January meeting,” he added.
Sentance said that during the period in which he has been arguing
for a rate hike “I feel that the arguments, both in terms of growth in
the economy, particularly growth in the global economy, and inflation
have moved in that direction.”
Sentance was asked what would have to happen for him to reverse his
call for a rate hike, He said he would back down if there was a serious
set back in the global economic recovery but later added he expected
world growth to remain robust.
–London newsroom: 00 44 20 7862 7499; e-ml: ukeditorial@marketnews.com
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