(Bloomberg) -- Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene said the UK faces difficult trade-offs over whether to cut interest rates because underlying inflation remains high and growth is weak.

Speaking at an Atlantic Council event on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s meeting in Washington, Greene said rate cuts were not imminent and the combination of high inflation and weak growth means “we are sort of in trade-off territory.”

“We have to weigh the risk of doing too much against the risk of doing too little,” Greene said Thursday at the event. “Unlike in the US where growth is really strong, it’s not in the UK.”

The remarks underscore her position as one of the more hawkish officials on the BOE’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee. Greene along with Catherine Mann and Jonathan Haskel have warned against a sharp series of reductions in the BOE’s key rate, now at a 16-year high of 5.25%.

Greene emphasized that she remains concerned that inflation will persist in the UK and that rates need to remain in restrictive territory until those pressures have subsided. Investors in recent days have scaled back bets on a quick move in UK rates after a string of comments from BOE official and also surprisingly strong inflation data in the US.

“In my mind, doing too little is the bigger risk because you end up having to hike rates even higher in the end and could end up generating an even bigger recession,” she said. “That would be the worst scenario.”

The UK is just emerging from a technical recession, and growth is forecast to be just 0.5% this year. Inflation is 3.2% and expected to drop to the 2% target. But the BOE expects it will rise again later in the year as the effect of falling energy prices drop out of comparisons.

On rate cuts, she said: “I don’t think it’s imminent.” The BOE stopped raising rates in September and until February was warning that the next move might well be higher. Now BOE Governor Andrew Bailey says the question is how long rates need to remain elevated. Markets expect a first quarter point cut in the autumn.

Greene was voting for higher rates until recently, but none of the MPC members currently want tighter policy. One of the nine is voting for lower rates.

Greene said she was “focused on wage growth in services inflation and they’re going in the right direction I just don’t think they’re going at the speed, I’d like to see them.”

The BOE has said it can cut rates and will still be bearing down on price pressures. “Ultimately we know we’re in restrictive territory. And I think we’re going to need to stay there for a while,” Greene said.

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