Skip to main content
← All News

Interest Rates · November 10, 2026 · 2 min read

Lombardelli keeps December rate rise possible, while warning about weak hiring

By Econ Data Tools Editorial Team

Published November 10, 2026 • Updated November 10, 2026

The Bank of England deputy governor says she lacks enough information to decide yet. Her November10 interview highlights a low-hire, low-fire labor market; it is not a new MPC decision.

Bank of England deputy governor Clare Lombardelli said in a Guardian interview published on November 10, 2026 that another interest-rate increase in December was possible, but that she did not yet have enough information to decide. She said the judgment would depend on the conflict in the Middle East, energy prices and the wider economic data. Her comments are an individual policymaker's conditional assessment, not an announcement of a new Monetary Policy Committee decision. The interview describes what Lombardelli calls a low-gear economy, with employers holding on to staff while delaying recruitment. She distinguishes falling hiring from widespread redundancies and says the low-hire, low-fire pattern particularly hurts people entering the labor market. Hospitality and retail are among the sectors she identifies as important first-job opportunities where openings have fallen. Lombardelli also cautions that higher unemployment need not automatically reduce inflationary pressure. In her account, employers that retain existing employees may still compete to fill a narrower set of hard-to-staff positions. That is her explanation of a possible mechanism, not proof that every rise in unemployment will leave wages or inflation unchanged. The policy backdrop is the committee's November 5 announcement, following its meeting ending November 4. The official minutes record an 8–1 vote to raise Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4%. Lombardelli and Megan Greene were in that majority. Catherine Mann alone preferred a 0.5 percentage-point rise to 4.25%. Those recorded votes should not be replaced with an assumed grouping based on how hawkish particular remarks sound. The November policy summary said CPI inflation had reached 3.5% in September and projected it to rise to around 5% by the middle of 2027 before falling. It identified energy-price pressures and the risk of knock-on effects on wages and other prices, while noting limited evidence of those second-round effects so far. That projection is conditional, not an observed 5% inflation rate or a guarantee that it will occur. The next scheduled policy announcement is December 17. The committee says policy is not on a preset path and will assess pay, pricing behavior and economic slack alongside the energy shock. Lombardelli's interview keeps a rise among the possible outcomes without committing her vote. The interview and minutes do not establish a current market-implied probability or demonstrate that sterling or gilt yields moved because of these remarks.

Sources

Related News

Japan October machine-tool orders rise 42.5% annually but fall from September

JMTBA preliminary data put orders at 204.377 billion yen. Domestic and foreign orders were higher than a year earlier, but both fell month on month; the table does not identify an AI-sector driver.

German October inflation confirmed at 2.8%; energy still drives annual rise

Final Destatis data show slower annual inflation and a monthly price decline. Energy remained 12.2% more expensive than a year earlier, with heating oil moving differently from motor fuels and electricity.

Bessent prepared remarks outline China dialogue on advanced-model risks

Treasury describes a new dialogue and a direct incident channel still being established. Expected testing exchanges are not a published joint protocol, tariff schedule or binding safety standard.