LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said on Wednesday she had become less worried that interest rates would need to rise again as inflation pressures gradually abate.
Breeden, the Monetary Policy Committee's newest member, said she was now thinking about how long interest rates would need to stay at their current level, instead of whether they would need to rise further.
"As I have become more confident that persistence is likely to evolve as embodied within our forecast, I have become less concerned that rates might need to be tightened further," Breeden said in a speech for the UK Women in Economics Annual Networking Event.
Her language was very similar to that of Governor Andrew Bailey last week, when he opened up the possibility of cutting borrowing costs at some point as the BoE held its Bank Rate at 5.25%.
Breeden said she was encouraged by inflation pressure receding in other advanced economies.
"But I need to see further evidence to be confident that the UK economy is progressing as set out in our forecast," she said.
Breeden said she would be monitoring wage data and company pricing decisions closely in the coming months.
Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by William James
