BoE Carney Inflation Report press conference live stream

Below are some comments from BoE Governor Carney in the press conference

• “The fog of Brexit is causing short term volatility in the economic data, and more fundamentally, it is creating a series of tensions in the economy, tensions for business.”
• “We arrive where we’re sitting here today and we don’t know, we do not know what form of arrangement could be struck. There are still as almost a wide of range of possibilities as there were the morning after the referendum.”
• “If there is a shock, which at least in terms of central expansion of business, households and financial markets, a no-deal, a no-transition Brexit, would be, it would be a shock, a negative shock, that would further increase the probability of negative quarters.
• “But for our core central expectation is that we will have higher uncertainty and there will be a path to some sort of arrangement.”
• “Although many companies are stepping up their contingency planning, the economy as a whole is still not yet prepared for a no-deal, no transition exit.”
• “The core of the financial system is ready for whatever form Brexit takes. And that is a good thing, it doesn’t solve all the other issues related to Brexit. It doesn’t necessarily help the half of companies in the country that are not ready for that scenario.
• “But it means the financial sector will cushion the blow, and be part of the solution, rather amplifying a shock and being part of the problem.”
• “Any persistent adjustment in sterling would likely have material consequences for inflation on the policy relevant horizons due to the slow speed of path through into consumer prices.”
• “We have … recognized the intensification of uncertainty, the bigger impact uncertainty is having on those spending decisions and we have projected it out, projected it to last a little longer than we had previously expected.
• “So a recognition that not everything may be tied up in a nice package by the end of March.”
• “The fundamentals of the UK economy are sound. The financial sector is resilient. Corporate balance sheets are strong, and the labor market is tight.”