Marcus Ashworth, Columnist

The Sooner the BOE Hikes Rates, the Sooner It Can Stop

Any dithering will only damage the central bank’s already wobby credibiliy.

November 3, 2021 at 7:00 AM UTC

Marcus Ashworth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European markets. Previously, he was chief markets strategist for Haitong Securities in London.

Not the time for dithering at the BOE.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

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Does it matter if the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee decides to hike its rate this Thursday? Or if it instead waits for more data on the labor market and raise instead at the Dec. 16 meeting? Not so much.

But it really does matter what the MPC does after that. It won't do anything for the central bank's reputation if it dithers and delays. So the BOE had better get its communication strategy right for once or else it will allow inflationary expectations to rip.