MNI BRIEF: BOE Mann Rate Path Shallower If Tightening Done Now

The transitory inflation scenario gave way as 2021 progressed to one where inflation could be stronger-for-longer, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Catherine Mann said Friday, as she made the case for further tightening now to keep the rate path flatter.

Mann, speaking at an OMFIF event in London, said that "the concern is that strong-for-longer (inflation) could embed a reinforcing price-wage dynamic and that policy should "lean against this." She said that inflation expectations, influencing wage and price setting, were key and "to the extent that monetary policy actions now dampen expectations" the could lead to a shallower rate path.

Mann's is the first keynote speech by an MPC member in 2022 and it will reinforce the view that the committee could well hike at its February meeting, with Mann in the majority supporting the December rate hike.