Allegra Stratton: How Low Will Bank of England Rates Go?
Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, trying to put his hand on the UK’s neutral rate
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Even though the City is in full Christmas party season, revelling finance types careening along pavements will still have half a (bleary) eye on what the Bank of England does this Thursday.
It’s thought to be almost a dead cert they cut interest rates by a quarter of a point. The disappointing GDP figures last week are widely thought to have tipped the balance decisively towards a cut. Governor Andrew Bailey could be the key vote (again) in a committee thought to otherwise still be split clean down the middle between four hawks and four doves. But the bigger question is, as Tom Rees writes, how much further they will go next year?