London — "Not yet" is likely to be the main message this week from Bank of England (BoE) officials pondering when to start signalling an interest-rate increase after a sharp slowdown rekindling doubt about Britain’s economy ahead of Brexit. Most BoE rate-setters, who were wrong-footed by the resilience of Britain’s consumers in 2016 following the European Union referendum shock, want more time to see how the economy copes before considering a change in record-low rates. All economists taking part in a Reuters poll predicted there would be no deepening of the split within the ranks of the monetary policy committee (MPC) when it announces its interest-rate decision on Thursday. Increasing inflation, fuelled by rising energy costs and the pound’s post-Brexit vote plunge, has strained the BoE consensus recently and prompted some investors to speculate that a first rate hike in nearly a decade might come sooner than expected. Michael Saunders, who left Citi to join the MPC in August, hin...
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