Bank of England’s Ramsden warns of rising global inflation risks

Sir Dave Ramsden, the Bank of England’s Deputy Governor, is sounding the alarm on global inflation. The message is straightforward: the risks are skewing upward, and the forces driving them are largely outside the UK’s control. That’s a meaningful shift from the Bank’s prior stance, which painted a more balanced picture. Now, the Monetary Policy Committee sees a world where multiple external pressures are converging at once. What’s driving the concern The Bank of England’s July 2026 Monetary Policy Report laid out the case in detail. Three major global forces are conspiring to keep inflation elevated. First, energy prices. Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East continue to put upward pressure on oil and gas markets. Second, supply chains are still feeling the squeeze. The culprit is surging demand for AI-related components, particularly microchips. The global race to build out AI infrastructure has created persistent constraints in semiconductor supply, and those bottlenecks are feeding into broader manufacturing costs. Third, an unusually strong El Niño weather pattern is anticipated for 2026-27, which could significantly disrupt agricultural output globally. That means higher food ...