The Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann has said she backed a half-point cut in UK interest rates last week because she believes the downturn in the jobs market will make the inflation “hump” this year short-lived.
Bank of England’s Mann backed rate cut as she sees inflation ‘hump’ easing Downturn in jobs market will mean workers will be unlikely to be able to bid up their wages, says policymaker.
Explaining why she backed a half-point, rather than a quarter-point cut, Mann said she wanted to send a strong signal about the Bank’s intentions – and suggested last year’s two quarter-point reductions had not fully fed through financial markets to borrowers.
Mann surprised financial markets last week by switching from voting against the Bank’s last cut, in November, to supporting a half-point reduction.
However, Mann did not point to the need for fresh rate cuts in the immediate future, despite voting for a half point cut last week.
