BoE Mann: Inflation gap in the UK more persistent than others

BoE policymaker, Catherine Mann, has highlighted the unique and mounting inflation problem that Britain is facing in comparison to the United States and the Eurozone.

Mann pointed to both large-scale price increases and the rising persistence of these underlying pressures as causes for concern. She emphasized, “The gap (between headline and core CPI) that I have in my country is more persistent than the gaps that we see in either of my neighbours, the U.S. or the euro area.”

The gap she refers to is the disparity between headline inflation (which includes volatile commodities like food and energy) and core inflation (which excludes these commodities).

Notably, Mann underscored the role of British businesses and increased wages in maintaining high core inflation. She explains that businesses in the UK have been successful in passing on price rises, contributing to this persistent inflation gap. This, coupled with increased wages, suggests that headline inflation has been slower to recede towards the core rate than it has in other regions.

“There is a gap between the headline, which is incorporating energy which went up really high and now has come down, and core where we do start to see the implications coming through pricing channels, through wage negotiations, into something that is persistent,” Mann explained.