LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Tuesday that interest rate cuts could still be a way off, even if the passage of time and little news on the economy had brought such a move "somewhat closer".
Pill said there were greater risks from cutting Bank Rate too quickly, rather than too late - a view that grounded his cautious approach to policy, despite signs of a downward shift in inflation pressure.
Investors reduced their bets that the BoE will cut rates in the coming months as Pill spoke, with the central bank's August meeting no longer fully priced in as the starting point.
"The combination of little news and the passage of time have brought a Bank Rate cut somewhat closer," Pill said in a speech to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
"But the same lack of news gives me no reason to depart from the baseline that I already established on St. David's Day (March 1)."
Pill, seen as a centrist on the Monetary Policy Committee, said for now it was right to maintain a restrictive stance, despite recent good news with the headline rate of inflation cooling.
He said business surveys published on Tuesday supported his existing view of the economy.
"Economic growth in the UK has resumed, albeit at a modest rate, over the past few months following the technical recession we experienced in the second half of last year. And today's survey data ... certainly supports that view," Pill said.
(Reporting by David Milliken, writing by Andy Bruce; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar and William James)
