The Bank of England has dropped the broadest possible hint that the next move in interest rates will be downwards after forecasting inflation will fall below 2% within months, despite keeping borrowing costs unchanged for a fourth consecutive time.
Threadneedle Street stressed that more evidence was required that inflation would stick at the target set by the government before the Bank could deliver a first cut to borrowing costs since the start of the pandemic. It warned that risks from fast-rising prices remained amid the cost of living crisis.