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May 2025
26m 58s

How should central banks respond to US t...

Financial Times
About this episode

US tariffs have sent financial markets into a frenzy in recent weeks, but how much should central bankers be taking trade into account when setting monetary policy? To find out, Soumaya Keynes sits down with Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Swati Dhingra – one of the committee’s more dovish members. They discuss why the UK’s open economy makes it more vulnerable to trade shocks, what Dhingra saw in the data that her MPC colleagues didn’t, and why she didn’t vote for an (even) sharper rate cut earlier this month.


Further reading:

Two BoE policymakers warn against rushing to further cut interest rates

Bank of England vote split hits hopes for faster interest rate cuts

Brexit lessons for Trump’s trade war


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Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


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