Economic Outlook by the Bank of England

One of the Bank of England's key responsibilities, as the central bank of the UK, is the conduct of monetary policy.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sets monetary policy to meet the 2% inflation target, and in a way that helps to sustain growth and employment. At its last meeting ending on 20 March 2024, the MPC voted by a majority of 8–1 to maintain Bank Rate at 5.25%. One member preferred to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 5%.

In this Economic Update we will hear how since the MPC’s previous meeting, market-implied paths for advanced economy policy rates have shifted up. Having declined through the second half of last year, UK GDP and market sector output are expected to start growing again during the first half of this year. Business surveys remain consistent with an improving outlook for activity. However, The MPC remains prepared to adjust monetary policy as warranted by economic data to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably. It will therefore continue to monitor closely indications of persistent inflationary pressures and resilience in the economy as a whole, including a range of measures of the underlying tightness of labour market conditions, wage growth and services price inflation. On that basis, the Committee will keep under review for how long Bank Rate should be maintained at its current level.

Join us to hear from Ken Clark for the next economic update hosted by Simon Drake, PFS Committee Member – Lancashire, Merseyside and Cumbria Region

We're delighted to invite you to the Register Here This webinar will take place on Tuesday 21 May at 10.00am - 11.00am.