The outlook for inflation means that the Bank of England does not have to slow the economy right away, Monetary Policy Committee member Kate Barker said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday.
In an interview with the Scotsman newspaper, Barker was quoted as saying that the BoE was looking right across the economy, not just to the consumer.
"The inflation forecast doesn't imply that we need to slow the economy straight away," she was quoted as saying.
She said that while it was encouraging that investment intentions were picking up, the recent rise in business confidence could "cool off a bit if sterling stays strong."
Still, she admitted that the last two interest rate hikes had so far failed to cool consumer demand as the MPC had expected.