UK inflation The numbers speak

If the Bank of England inflation report is right, then the first rate cut is likely to be the last. The bank justified its August 4 cut in the overnight interest rate from 4.75% to 4.5% on the grounds that slower growth would lead to inflation falling below the 2% target rate. But the projections in the bank’s quarterly inflation report suggest that 4.5% is as low as it is safe to go. The report provides two possible inflation scenarios. If rates stay flat, the central expectation of inflation ...