Mr Bailey told Kent Online: “Where it will settle is a good question. Simple answer is I can’t tell you with any great accuracy. What I would say is ‘will we go back to the very low near zero interest rates that we had until not that long ago’?

“My answer is I would not expect that because what caused interest rates to go that way it was, amongst other things, two very big shocks to the economy.”

He emphasised that the current downward trajectory of interest rates is likely to be gradual, as the bank navigates persistent inflationary pressures and seeks to achieve its 2% inflation target sustainably.

Stressing a cautious approach to reducing rates, Mr Bailey added: “We still have to get it sustainably at the target and we have quite an unbalanced mix of components of inflation at the moment. But I’m very encouraged that the path is downwards therefore I do think the path for interest rates will be downwards, gradually.”