Andrew Sentance has predicted inflation could rise above 5% this year and repeated his calls for a gradual increase in interest rates and cutting off of monetary stimulus.
On the day the CPI rate of inflation was revealed to be 4.4% in February, up from 4% the previous month, Sentance said the target rate of 2% remained "optimistic", predicting "it could easily rise above 5% later this year". Speaking this afternoon at the CBI East of England lunch, he said: "Once businesses and individuals come to expect higher inflation - and there are increasing signs that they are beginning to do so - these expectations will be much harder to dislodge. "In this environment, with inflation running very considerably above its target level and set to rise further, fail...
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