BoE's Bailey sticks with 'careful' rate cut view as uncertainty deepens

(Reuters) -Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Tuesday he was sticking with a "gradual and careful" approach to cutting interest rates as global trade policy turmoil increasingly clouds the outlook.

The BoE cut interest rates last month to 4.25% in a three-way split vote. It cited "heightened unpredictability" with markets in flux thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump's rapidly shifting trade war.

"I think the path (for interest rates) remains downwards, but how far and how quickly is now shrouded in a lot more uncertainty," Bailey told parliament's Treasury Committee.

Bailey said the fragmentation of the global trade system was bad for economic growth and that it would delay business investment decisions in Britain.

"Gradual and careful remain my ... guiding line," Bailey said of his thinking on future rate cuts, adding that he would not be drawn on his intentions for the June Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden, regarded as a centrist on the MPC, told lawmakers that she thought there was a case for cutting interest rates last month even without the global trade ructions.

Breeden was one of the majority of five to vote for a quarter-point interest rate cut last month, with the governor.

But Bailey said he was more undecided than Breeden ahead of the May interest rates decision.

"You should think of the majority as having a broad church within it," Breeden said.

(Reporting by David Milliken and Suban Abdulla, additional reporting by Muvija M; writing by Andy Bruce)