BoE's Bailey: rise in market rates consistent with better outlook

LONDON: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Monday that a recent rise in interest rates in financial markets was consistent with an improvement in the economic outlook.

"We have seen some increase in interest rates over the last month or so, as have other countries. My assessment so far is that that is consistent, I think, with the change in the economic outlook," Bailey told the BBC.

The yield on 10-year British government debt was trading on Monday close to its highest level since last March when the onset of the coronavirus pandemic caused a "dash for cash" among panicked investors.

Government bond yields globally have risen on hopes for an economic recovery on the back of the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations and a $1.9 trillion US fiscal stimulus.

Bailey said he was now more positive about the British economy as the novel coronavirus was in retreat though he cautioned the COVID-19 effect was huge.

"I'm now more positive but with a large dose of caution," Bailey told the BBC. "There are now risks on the upside."

Bailey said the British economy would recover this year and get back to its late 2019 level around the end of this year.

The BoE is expected to keep interest rates at their historic low of 0.1% and its bond-buying programme unchanged at 895 billion pounds ($1.25 trillion) on Thursday at the end of its March meeting.

"There has been a very large build-up in saving in the economy," Bailey told the BBC. "The question of course then is: to what use will those savings be put?"