LONDON (Reuters) – Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said market expectations in the near term looked reasonable although the central bank could not give more detailed guidance about the outlook for 2025.
“I think the path is downward but I really would caution that at this stage, with the amount of uncertainty, we can’t tell you by how much or when particular moves are going to take place,” Bailey told reporters.
“The world is too uncertain. We will come back in February at our next meeting and review it again.”
“You can see that in immediate market pricing. The market say, well they might cut in February, they might not. That’s a pretty reasonable starting point,” he added.
Interest rate futures on Thursday priced in a 45% chance of a quarter point cut in BoE rates by Feb. 6, the date of the BoE’s next scheduled rate announcement.
The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee voted with a majority of 6-3 to hold interest rates at 4.75% earlier on Thursday.
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David Milliken)
