UK interest rates to rise "pretty soon" says outgoing BoE official

David Miles, the outgoing member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC), has said that a rise in UK interest rates will happen sooner rather later.

During an interview on BBC's Newsnight programme, Miles said that rates would rise "pretty soon."

Final vote

Having already cast his final vote as a member of the influential rate-setting MPC, Miles added: "I don't think it's anything to worry about - it's a sign the economy is returning to a more normal position."

"It's taken a long time to get there, and we're not fully there yet," he clarified.

In his last vote, Miles was one of the eight-to-one majority of policymakers choosing to hold the interest rate at its historical low, at least for the time being. However, the occasion also marked the first split vote this year.

Delay dangers

Kristin Forbes, external monetary policy committee member, said that Britain's economic recovery could be in danger if interest rates were kept low for too long.

“Waiting too long would risk undermining the recovery, especially if interest rates then need to be increased faster than the gradual path which we expect,” she said.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney is on record as saying "the decision as to when to start such a process of adjustment will likely come into sharper relief around the turn of this year,"  although he later pointed out that this was his personal view of the situation.