BOE to hike rates three times through May – Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs economists predict three interest rate hikes by the Bank of England (BOE) this year, which would mark the quickest tightening in 25 years.

Key quotes

“We now expect the BOE to hike in back-to-back meetings through May, in order to demonstrate to markets and businesses that the MPC is serious about the inflation target, and will act to ensure the U.K. does not face the risk of a wage-price spiral.”

“We expect the BOE to announce a fixed and gradual schedule of asset sales to begin in the summer, after hitting the stated 1% threshold in May.”

“While highly uncertain, we are expecting asset sales of around 20 billion pounds ($26.8 billion) per quarter.”