BOE's Forbes hints rates could rise sooner than expected -WSJ

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Interest rates in Britain may need to start rising sooner than many expectations, Kristin Forbes, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Healthy growth in the United States and low oil prices could trigger consumption and investments in the UK that would help the cause for hiking interest rates sooner than market expectations by mid-2016, Forbes told the Journal. (http://on.wsj.com/1zLjFHU)

Tumbling oil prices in the UK have brought the inflation rate to its lowest in more than a decade, which would further bring down interest rates in the near term. However, rates would eventually rise as the economy expanded in the medium term, Forbes told the newspaper.

The Bank of England has the ability and the duty to return usually low British inflation to its 2 percent target within the next two years, Forbes said.

British inflation fell to 0.5 percent in December and Bank of England officials have warned it may turn negative in the next few months.

Even (Taiwan OTC: 6436.TWO - news) as the Bank of England's strategy involves raising rates slowly, the economy may respond in unexpected ways, Forbes told the Journal. (Reporting by Zara Mascarenhas in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)