BOE’s Bailey Says Goal Is To Curb Inflation, ‘No Ifs Or Buts’

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey stressed that are “no ifs or buts” to his aim of bringing inflation back the central bank’s 2% target, adding policy makers are prepared to act “forcefully’ to achieve that goal.

The comments, made in a speech that mainly dealt with longer-term policy issues, reinforce a growing view that the BOE is prepared to risk growth, or even spark a recession, in order to bring price gains to heel. 

Inflation in the UK currently stands at 9.1%, and is forecast to exceed 11% later this year. In response, the BOE has hiked rates at five straight meetings, taking the benchmark to 1.25% from 0.1%, and investors are almost fully pricing in a rare half-point increase next month.

“Bringing inflation back down to the 2% target sustainably is our job, no ifs or buts,” Bailey said in London on Tuesday.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.