Speaking at the Northern Powerhouse Summit in Newcastle, 5 July, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said he now had more confidence in the UK economy.
Carney’s speech at the Summit was part of the Great Exhibition of The North 2018 programme (#GetNorth2018), the biggest event in England this year.
Carney said recent data had given him “greater confidence” that weak first-quarter growth “was largely due to the weather”. His comments caused analysts to predict an interest rate rise in August, not least because the governor had noted household spending and sentiment had “bounced back strongly”.
The governor added, in remarks during a Q&A session at the Boiler Shop venue, that England winning the World Cup would be an “unalloyed, unadulterated absolute good” for the economy.
Carney told the Summit: “Overall, recent domestic data suggest the economy is evolving largely in line with the May Inflation Report projections, which see demand growing at rates slightly above those of supply and domestic cost pressures building.”
He also, however, warned that a global trade war could dampen economic growth.
