BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said in a speech that the news of coronavirus vaccine is “clearly encouraging”, even if there is still “some way to go” before delivery of vaccinations. He added that the central bank’s forecasts of recovery in Q1 2021 was already based on assumption of waning direct effect of the pandemic. Hence, vaccine development doesn’t immediately warrant an upward revision to forecasts.
Still, “assuming the recent positive developments do translate into delivery of vaccinations, then they could … bolster resilience and mitigate some of the risks of long-term scarring,”
Ramsden also reiterated that “negative rates remain in the toolbox” in the Q&A section. But, “they’re not something that we’re taking out of the toolbox and applying to the UK at present.”
