By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 11:56 BST, 3 June 2025 | Updated: 12:38 BST, 3 June 2025
The Bank of England governor has warned interest rate cuts are 'more uncertain' as another forecaster downgraded the UK economy.Andrew Bailey said the prospects for easing the burden on Brits was 'shrouded in a lot more uncertainty', largely due to Donald Trump's trade war.He told MPs that the path was still 'downwards' but 'how far and how quickly' was 'unpredictable'.The comments came as the OECD trimmed expectations for UK plc's growth to 1.3 per cent this year and 1 per cent next. In March the international body forecast 1.4 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively.The latest outlook report suggested inflation will 'linger' this year and debt interest costs will weigh on government finances. Markets have been pricing in limited interest rate cuts for the rest of this year, after the Bank reduced the level from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent last month.However, the voting margin on the Monetary Policy Committee was an extremely tight 5-4 - with two members preferring a half-point cut and two wanting to stay on hold. Andrew Bailey said the prospects for easing the burden on Brits were 'shrouded in a lot more uncertainty', largely due to Donald Trump 's trade war
