City AM Shadow MPC urges Bank of England to hike interest rates

The Bank of England should raise interest rates on Thursday in order to “protect credibility” and stamp out any risks of inflation spiralling out of control, top economists have said.  City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, which consists of leading economists across industry and academia, has called on the Bank to lift interest rates by 25 basis points from 3.75 to four per cent. Our committee said there were growing risks of higher energy costs becoming embedded within the UK economy, spilling into rising consumer prices and intensifying wage pressures.  Out of nine members on the Shadow MPC, six economists said interest rates should rise by 25 basis points, with each participant responding independently of their respective organisations.  Top City researcher Kallum Pickering, plus the former Whitehall economists Vicky Pryce and Ben Ramanauskas, called on the Bank’s official committee to leave interest rates unchanged.  “Increasing interest rates now would do lit