BoE's Ramsden Says Persistent Inflation Is Shaping His Rate Thinking

Bank of England Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden has said that stubbornly high inflation is increasingly shaping his thinking on interest rates, noting that the likelihood of such a scenario has strengthened since the central bank's July and September rate-setting meetings.

Speaking during a question and answer session following an address to the Money, Macro and Finance Society, Ramsden was asked whether elevated energy costs and inflation on their own would be sufficient for him to back a rate increase at a future meeting, or whether he would first need firmer evidence that these pressures are feeding into wage talks and corporate pricing decisions.

"We seem to be in a period of higher and longer-lasting headline inflation.... So, that does begin to have a bearing on my thinking," he said.

Ramsden also pointed to the central bank's next rate-setting meeting in November, saying that by then some early indications should be available on the direction of negotiations over 2027 wage settlements, most of which are due to take effect in March and April.