“With economies now in recovery, concerns about inflation are coming to the fore. Central banks are weighing how to withdraw emergency policies introduced at the start of the pandemic without damping growth.” Tom Fairless, Isabel Coles, and Jason Douglas write in the Wall Street Journal.
- “The Bank of England raised its key interest rate for a second consecutive meeting, to 0.5%, saying it expected annual inflation to accelerate above 7% within months…Four of nine members of the bank’s rate-setting committee wanted a bigger rise, to 0.75%, citing widening and more persistent price pressures than expected.”
- The European Central Bank left rates unchanged. However, “PresidentChristine Lagarde left the door open to an interest-rate increase later this year, a turnabout from her position seven weeks ago.”