The Bank of England's (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Martin Weale said in an interview with the Irish Newson Monday that the central bank could hike its interest rate sooner than expected by markets.

"I would be surprised if people had to wait as long as markets are currently implying," he said.

"But markets may well turn out to be right," Weale added.

He noted that inflation remained below the central bank's target longer than expected.

"There is a longer waiting period than we had expected but if we look at core measures of inflation, those are closer to the target but still below the target," MPC member said.