Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said on Monday that he did not yet know how the emergence of the Omicron variant will affect his decision on interest rates this month. We will need to consider if Omicron will lead to a continued shift in spending patterns in the UK and globally, Broadbent added, before reiterating that the bank's November forecasts show clearly that inflation will be comfortably above target in 2-3 years without any interest rate hikes. 

Market Reaction

GBP has not reacted and GBP/USD is currently trading just off session highs in the 1.3270s.