April 24 (Reuters) - Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben
Broadbent has forecast consecutive quarters of rapid growth but
also warned that inflation will prove less predictable,
according to an interview with the Telegraph newspaper.
It may be too soon to call a "roaring twenties" scenario,
but it certainly means "very rapid growth at least over the next
couple of quarters" particularly as the economy will be boosted
by people simply saving less, Broadbent said in remarks
published Saturday evening in the Telegraph https://bit.ly/3vmjAK1
newspaper.
Broadbent said in the interview that there has been "less of
a disinflationary effect" as households have also switched
spending into other areas.
"The price rises for those hitting capacity limits are going
to be bigger than the falls in prices for those seeing falls in
demand", he told the newspaper.
"When you get the shift in demand, you're going to run into
bottlenecks in some areas, particularly in those areas where
supply, too, has been hit for a particular reason", he added.
Broadbent said there was room for more quantitative easing
if needed, but added that "the tool box" was less important than
"the primary question of what you want to do with the stance of
monetary policy".
The Bank of England said last month that Britain's economic
recovery was gathering pace thanks to the speed of COVID-19
vaccinations, but its policymakers were split over the prospects
for longer-term improvement.
Broadbent said in February that the Bank of England would
need significant news to alter the pace of its purchases of
British government bonds, which were part of its response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie
Adler)