Bailey: No rate cuts in the foreseeable future

　　The Bank of England (BoE) is unlikely to cut interest rates for the "foreseeable future", Governor Andrew Bailey has said, warning that the inflation battle in the second half of the year will be "hard work".

　　Speaking to local media, he said: "The recent drop in UK (GBR) inflation is very good news, but a 2% drop in a month is unlikely to happen again, as the fall in inflation from 6.7% to 4.6% in October was mainly caused by a sharp fall in energy prices." We do have to get inflation down to 2 percent, which is why I recently dismissed the assumption that we're talking about cutting rates or will in the foreseeable future, because it's too early to have such discussions. Returning inflation to the Bank's 2% target will be an uneven second half, which will be hard work as the external shock to inflation is easing and the remaining task of weakening domestically-driven inflationary pressures will be done by restrictive monetary policy."

　　"The second half, it was hard work and obviously we don't want to see any more adverse shocks," he stressed.

　　"Fundamentals are subdued, which means supply growth is likely to slow, which could pose a downside barrier to inflation," she added.

　　Last week, he warned that the Bank of England may have to raise interest rates again and that the rebound in food and energy prices still posed an upside risk to inflation. Speaking at an event, he said: "The central bank is watching for further signs of persistent inflation, which may require interest rates to rise again." Food price inflation, still in double digits, could spike again. Climate change, protectionism and the impact of conflict in the Middle East on energy costs are all likely to cause food costs to soar in the coming months and years."