Prime Minister May supports Carney staying on as BoE Governor

Theresa May has given her backing to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney as doubts swirl around whether he will stay beyond his initial contract.

On Monday the Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said May felt the Canadian was "absolutely" the best man for the job and will "certainly be supportive of him going beyond his five years", which are currently due to end in mid 2018.

Amid arguments about the Bank's independence, there has been rising speculation that Carney would step down due to complaints and pressure to resign by pro-Brexit politicians and commentators over the economic warnings he gave ahead of the EU referendum in June.

The 10 Downing spokeswoman said Carney had a good working relationship with the Prime Minister but the choice of whether to stay or go was "clearly a decision for him".

Financial Times on Monday reported the Canadian had told friends he was likely to stay for a full eight-year term, having met with May and Chancellor Philip Hammond.

The governor has plenty on his mind this week as he is due to deliver another 'Super Thursday', where the BoE will announce its latest policy decision and publish its Quarterly Inflation Report, with a press conference giving the Monetary Policy Committee the opportunity to explain the new forecasts.

Last week, Carney stepped back from the indication made in September that most MPC members were prepared to vote for another rate cut this year, analysts at Rabobank pointed out, "In light of the sharp drop in sterling this month and the related surge in inflation expectations, steady policy is expected from the Bank this week."