As part of a new regular series, the market research agency NOP undertook a survey of public attitudes to inflation for the Bank of England in February. The results show that, given a choice between higher interest rates or higher inflation, four times as many people would prefer interest rates to go up, rather than prices. Other results suggest that most people are aware that the Bank, rather than the Government, now sets interest rates. 55% are satisfied with the way the Bank is doing its job; just 10% are dissatisfied. Most people are aware that inflation is low, but only one in three knows that it is currently between 1% and 3%. However, very few expect inflation to rise sharply in the year ahead.
The Bank of England inflation attitudes survey