–Adds Detail, Quotes To Version Transmitted At 1424 GMT
LONDON (MNI) – Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said
Thursday that, for him, recent monetary policy decisions have been
finely balanced.
Tucker is one of the MPC members who has consistently voted for no
change. His comments suggest he sees it as a close call between backing
a hike and no change, and he also highlighted his concerns over
inflation.
Tucker said the economic rebalancing was going to be very lengthy
and painful for some regions and households.
“Because of the mess the economy and the world financial system got
into there is the most extraordinary rebalancing of our economy underway
and it is, obviously, painful for some regions, in particular, lots of
househoulds and firms,” he said.
“I am afraid it (the rebalancing) is going to take a long while,”
Tucker added.
“At the same time we are very worried about inflation,” Tucker
said.
“I have been voting for no change but my own decisions since the
back end of last year have been finely balanced,” he said.
Tucker added, following his comments on policy decisions being
finely balanced, “that we will work through, eventually. More worrying,
I think, is that … the global imbalances are still largely there.”
The BOE deputy governor said in the last decade, after the
dotcom and telecommunications debacles that he had warned “one boom and
bust could lead to another.”
“I worry about that slightly in today’s world. This isn’t
something that any one country can solve. It is something to which we
try and make a contribution,” he said.
Tucker said the challenge for the new financial architecture in the
UK was to try and connect the various issues facing policymakers. He
warned that it was not enough to control inflation, saying the credit
cycle had also to be curbed.
–London newsroom 0044 20 7862 7491; email: drobinson@marketnews.com
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