(Bloomberg) --
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the central bank is ready to take all necessary steps to help the economy weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is “assessing the economic impacts and considering the policy implications of various possible scenarios,” Carney told lawmakers in London.
The pound was little changed after the comments, trading 0.2% higher at $1.2775 as of 9:47 a.m. in London.
Carney said he is in contact with counterparts in the world’s biggest economies as well as the International Monetary Fund.
The outgoing governor also admitted that while he voted to keep interest rates unchanged at the BOE’s January meeting, it wasn’t a clear-cut decision.
Nothing softer inflationary pressure and slack in the economy, he said the decision was “more finely balanced” than it had been in previous meetings.
(Updates with another comment from Carney.)