BoE chief economist says low bond yields may point to 'soggier' growth

Reuters
Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England in the City of London May 15, 2014. Bank of England policymaker Ben Broadbent said on Thursday it was not surprising that Britain's housing market was recovering along with the rest of the economy and he did not see troubling levels of credit growth. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's low government bond yields may reflect a mix of investors' fear and expectations of weak future growth, the Bank of England's chief economist said on Monday. Andy Haldane, in a BBC interview, said high debt and general risk aversion caused by the 2008-09 financial crisis could act as a headwind to growth for the foreseeable future. He also said that low gilt yields showed "a remarkable pattern". "It may be telling us that rates in future may be materially lower than they have been in the past, because growth is soggier than it has been in the past," he added. (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by James Davey)