Monetary Policy

We are fast approaching the point at which the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will have to make a decision about the future of its forward guidance policy. The policy had been intended to reassure households, firms and markets that Bank Rate would remain at 0.5% for a prolonged period. However, the economy and, in particular the labour market, have improved so quickly that unemployment will reach the 7% threshold within the next few months, more than two years earlier than the Bank had forecast when it introduced forward guidance…