British central bank deputy governor says further interest rate cut likely

Britain's central bank is likely to further cut interest rate, a British central bank official said here on Wednesday.

"It seems likely to me that further monetary stimulus will be required at some point in order to help ensure that a slowdown in economic activity doesn't turn into something more pernicious," said Minouche Shafik, the deputy governor of the Bank of England (BOE).

"However, the likely timing of that stimulus will depend on the continued evolution of the data over the coming weeks and months," Shafik said at the Markets Most Influential Summit.

The improvement in the forward-looking indicators suggested that the slowdown may not be as sharp or as sudden as we might have feared, Shafik said.

The BOE cut the bank rate by 25 basis points in August as a response to anticipated economic problems resulting from Britain's vote to leave the European Union on June 23, making it a new all-time low rate of 0.25 percent.

The BOE could even act before the next significant economic policy announcement from the new British government, which will be the annual autumn statement on Nov. 23. Endi