BoE's Haldane says economy going 'gangbusters'

The Bank of England's top economist said the central bank may need to look at turning off the monetary policy taps given the 'gangbusters' economy.

In an interview with LBC radio, Bank's chief economist said that it was "hard to find anything whose price isn't going up at the moment" and that it was important that the UK did not become overly dependent on "monetary medicine".

Fast economic growth was "great to see" but the "pretty punchy pressures on prices" meant that at some point the time could come when "we need to start turning off the tap when it comes to the monetary policy support we’ve been providing."

Haldane reportedly also said the Chancellor had "played a blinder" in the crisis and that lifting lockdown restrictions as planned would help businesses and workers plan.

Yet workers may need pay increases in order to keep boosting demand.

The economist also said he hoped that the jobs market could dodge a serious fallout once furlough ends.

As of 0937 BST, the pound was edging up 0.17% to 1.4181 versus the US dollar.