BoE's Broadbent sees little sign of inflation spike persisting

LONDON (Reuters) - A current spike in consumer goods prices does not point to a longer-term persistence in inflation, and the Bank of England would do better to focus on labour market signals, BoE Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said in a speech on Thursday.

"While we know it's going to go further over the next few months, I'm not convinced that the current inflation in retail goods prices should in and of itself mean higher inflation 18-24 months ahead, the horizon more relevant for monetary policy," he said.

"The outlook for aggregate demand growth still matters. And for all the usual reasons and more, the (Monetary Policy) Committee will have to pay very close attention, parsing the official data as best it can, to the numbers in the labour market," Broadbent added.

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by William Schomberg)