The Bank occasionally provides guidance in normal times to give some sense of the imminence and degree of prospective policy action. We seek to place that guidance in the context of the most important economic and financial factors that will determine whether it is prophetic. This guidance is never a promise, however.
Actual policy will always respond to the economic and financial outlook as it evolves. Market expectations of policy should do the same, reflecting differences in perspectives amid a common understanding of our objective. Let me offer some specific examples where the provision of additional guidance in normal times on the path of interest rates might be helpful.