U.K. ready to tighten money taps despite Brexit uncertainty
With the global economy growing strongly, the Bank of England has turned more confident about Britain’s prospects and indicated it could raise interest rates in coming months — even in the face of the welter of uncertainties related to the country’s exit from the European Union.
Though it kept its main interest rate on hold at 0.5 per cent Thursday, the bank indicated that it could make another three quarter-point hikes over the coming three years, one more than previously expected.
The next hike, many investors are betting, could come as soon as May, when the central bank will publish its next set of quarterly economic projections. The pound rose sharply on the news, gaining 1.1 per cent to US$1.4033 as investors factored in the prospect of higher rates.
A hike in May would be the bank’s second in six months following one in November, which was the first in a decade. It would also echo a global trend toward tighter monetary conditions after years of cheap cash that has spooked investors this week, particularly on Wall Street.
High inflation is the Bank of England’s main reason for wanting to raise rates. Prices have risen sharply due to the pound’s plunge after the June 2016 vote for Brexit, which simultaneously pushed up import costs, notably of food and energy, and weighed on economic growth by reducing households’ purchasing power.
Though the outlook for the British economy is conditional on the outcome of the Brexit discussions, particularly what the future trading relationship with the EU will be, the central bank said “monetary policy would need to be tightened somewhat earlier and by a somewhat greater extent” than it anticipated in November.
That view includes an assumption that Britain will be able to get “a smooth adjustment” to a new trading relationship with the EU.
Bank Governor Mark Carney said “developments regarding the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union are the most significant influences on — and sources of uncertainty about — the economic outlook.”
That means that forecasts are liable to change in light of what Carney has called the “twists and turns” of the Brexit process.
When more clarity emerges over what Brexit actually will entail when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019, Carney said the Bank of England will need to adjust its forecasts.
In recent weeks, the minority Conservative government has become increasingly split over how to handle Brexit. While some lawmakers in Prime Minister Theresa May’s party want close ties with the remaining 27 EU nations and a period of transition, others want a more fundamental break that would see Britain diverge more profoundly on matters related to regulations and trade. Meanwhile, the views of the opposition Labour Party are also unclear.
May hopes to agree soon on the terms of a transition deal with the EU that would see Britain remain in the tariff-free European single market and customs union for a period after Brexit day. That would give firms and households time to adjust to a new relationship with the EU — Brussels has said any transition period should finish by the end of 2020.