Bank of England says UK rate rise needed ‘soon’

A Bank of England policymaker said UK interest rates need to rise “relatively soon” as wages pick up, adding to signs that support is gradually building for the first increase in British borrowing costs since before the financial crisis.

Martin Weale, one of the bank’s rate-setters, also said a rise would give the central bank scope to cut if the British economy runs into trouble in the future.

“With wage growth remaining firm, the tightening labour market means that inflation is likely to rise above target in two to three years’ time,” Weale wrote in Scotland on Sunday.