BoE boss blaming the weather for bungling its inflation forecasts

THE Bank of England is now blaming the weather for bungling its forecasts.

Governor Andrew Bailey bemoaned extreme conditions that led to poor harvests in Morocco and increased sugar prices.

He said: “These are genuinely things I think you can’t predict.”

The central bank has been criticised for being wildly wrong with its inflation projections.

It had said Consumer Prices Index inflation would drop to one per cent by 2024 — but now it is set to hit 3.4 per cent.

At a Commons grilling yesterday, Mr Bailey was blasted for failing to wrestle inflation down to its two per cent target.

Tory MP John Baron accused the Bank of a “woeful neglect of duty”, which he said was causing families “real pain”.

Chief economist Huw Pill said: “We recognise our forecasts on inflation have been too low.

“We are trying to understand why we have made those errors, interpret those errors in terms of the behaviour, and make an assessment in terms of how it will continue."

The latest inflation stats published today are expected to show the first single-digit rise in months.