MNI BRIEF: BOE Rate Cut Closer But Still Some Way Off - Pill

Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill pushed back against the idea that the BOE should cut rates in the very near future, stating instead that there had been little significant economic news in recent weeks and that he was sticking to hi baseline case that a rate cut was someway off.

Pill, speaking at Chicago Booth, said that the return of the UK economy to modest growth after a technical recession in the second half of last year, was as expected and while they were increasingly confident inflation would return to its 2 percent target in coming months the focus remained on measures of inflation persistence - services inflation, pay growth and the tightness of the labour market.

An absence of news and the passage of time brings a Bank Rate cut somewhat closer but for now "the time for cutting Bank Rate remained some way off," Pill said.