BoE’s Haskel sees tension with government fiscal policy

The Bank of England’s policymaker Jonathan Haskel said the central bank encountered difficulty as the government’s expansionary fiscal policy appeared to place it at odds with the BoE’s efforts to cool inflation.

“We are in a difficult, uncomfortable position, frankly, because I don’t like being in a situation where you have one institution, namely the independent central bank, at least being portrayed as set against another institution, the elected government,” he said.


“Having a fiscal expansion in the context of tight supply is, I’m afraid, very difficult,” he added, during a panel discussion hosted by the North Western Reform Synagogue.

The pound is pressured following the BoE surprising with just a 50bps rate hike instead of a 75bps increase. The GBP/USD pair is back to flat at 1.1258 following a move between 1.1364 and 1.1211 on the day.