The Bank of England (BoE) has consistently underestimated UK inflation in the past 18 months. The central bank barely acknowledged that the pandemic would have any impact on prices back in May 2021 (gray line above), and none of its subsequent forecasts in August 2021, November 2021, February 2022, and May 2022 have aged much better.
That might be because the BoE originally claimed inflation was “transitory” – the result of a sharp pandemic-induced slowdown in production and shipping that would pass once everything was up and running again. So in order not to risk the post-pandemic economic recovery, the central bank was reluctant to hike interest rates for no good reason. It was only when it became inarguable in December 2021 that inflation wasn’t just a blip that the BoE started raisi
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With all this volatility, you may want to write that useful old adage down.
These spreads have widened, foreshadowing volatile days ahead.
When bond volatility is this hot, compared to stocks volatility, it’s a warning sign.