Bank of England's Vlieghe says he sees more rate hikes than market did

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe said he expected slightly more interest rate increases over the next three years than the market assumption of just under three 25 basis-point hikes in the period used by the BoE earlier this month.

"Provided the headwinds from Brexit uncertainty do not intensify in the near term, and ultimately fade over the coming years, I think policy rates are likely to rise, in my central view, by 25bp to 50bp per year over the forecast period," Vlieghe said in written answers to questions from lawmakers.

"That is slightly higher than the conditioning assumption for interest rates in the May 2018 Inflation Report. That is a forecast, not a promise, and will depend on how the economy evolves," he added in the statement on Tuesday.

(Writing by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)