We underestimated consumer strength after Brexit, BoE's Carney says

[February 02, 2017]  LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Thursday the bank had miscalculated the strength of British consumer spending in its assessment of what would happen immediately after last year's Brexit vote.

Britain's Bank of England Governor Mark Carney attends the G20 Germany 2017 Conference in Wiesbaden, Germany January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

"The thing that we missed is the strength of consumer spending and consumer confidence associated with that, that has been present all the way through this process," he told a news conference.

The BoE had predicted a severe pull-back if Britain voted last June to leave the European Union. Up until now, however, the data has been relatively robust.

"After an initial wobble in terms of consumer surveys ... it bounced back pretty quickly," Carney said.

"Consumers have not been affected by any of the associated uncertainty around Brexit."

(Reporting by Jeremy Gaunt; Editing by Richard Lough)

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