LONDON (Reuters) -Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said consumers have been more cautious than policymakers had expected, speaking after the bank cut interest rates to 4% from 4.25% on Thursday.
Bank of England's Bailey Highlights Unexpected Consumer Caution
Consumer Behavior and Economic Outlook
LONDON (Reuters) -Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said consumers have been more cautious than policymakers had expected, speaking after the bank cut interest rates to 4% from 4.25% on Thursday.
Impact of Food and Energy Prices
"Consumers appear to remain more cautious than we have expected, perhaps exacerbated by broader downside risks to activity and the risk of more sudden adverse developments in the labour market," Bailey said at a press conference.
Labour Market Concerns
"Food and energy prices are salient to consumers and often affect inflation expectations more than other prices, so we have to be very careful that this does not lead to any additional second round effects on wage and price setting in the economy."
(Reporting by William Schomberg, David Milliken, Suban Abdulla and Alistair Smout, writing by Sarah Young, editing by William James)
