MNI BRIEF: BOE Pill: Rate Cut 'When Rather Than If'

MNI (LONDON) - Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said Wednesday the question for policymakers was when, not if, a cut in Bank Rate would come, although downplayed the likelihood of any economic data between now and the August meeting resolving the issue.

Pill, a key swing voter with the Monetary Policy Committee split between those backing a hike and those clearly opposed to one, (see: MNI POLICY: BOE's Pill Holds August Rate Cut Trump Card On Split MPC) highlighted the difficulty in separating the signal from the noise in assessing underlying inflation persistence and gave a balanced view on how soon the current restrictive policy stance could be loosened.