Hike in Bank Rate could soon be justified, BoE's Forbes says

Bank Rate should be raised if the real economy remains "solid" and the pickup in the nominal economic data continued, a Bank of England rate-setter said.

In remarks prepared for a speech on 8 February but released on Tuesday, Kristin Forbes said: "In my view, if the real economy remains solid and the pickup in the nominal data continues, this could soon suggest an increase in Bank."

Forbes, one of four external members of the Monetary Policy Committee, added that given then current "extremely low levels" of Bank Rate and the substantial stimulus already in place via other programmes, an increase in Bank Rate would still leave a substantial amount of support for the economy in place.

"It may take many years for a new regime [after Brexit] to be agreed on and a new equilibrium to be reached.

"I believe that the MPC should be nimble and willing to quickly adjust the appropriate path for monetary policy in either direction as needed throughout this period - even if it means reversing recent adjustments to Bank Rate."

As of 1538 GMT cable was still down by 0.62% at 1.2384, after having hit an intra-day low of 1.2346.