LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene said on Monday she would need to see more signs of weakening in the labour market and consumption in the economy to warrant voting for an interest rate cut.
“I would need to see the labour market generate more (weakness), and that would need to play out not just in the unemployment data, but also in the employment data,” she said in an interview with CNBC.
“If the outlook for consumption would end up much weaker than what we are expecting, then that might shift my views as well.”
Greene in November voted with a narrow majority of 5-4 to hold interest rates. Last month she said she did not think borrowing costs at 4% were “meaningfully restrictive” and that she remained concerned about future pay growth.
She said last week, after finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget, that measures to lower households’ energy bills could help lower household’s inflation expectations but that the policy implication was unclear.
Financial markets are betting on the BoE cutting rates in one further quarter-point move to 3.75% by the end of 2025.
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla and Andy Bruce)
