A T. Rowe Price economist said the Bank of England’s next move is more likely to be an interest-rate cut than a hike.

According to Jin10, T. Rowe Price economist Tomasz Wieladek wrote in a report that U.K. inflation in May held steady at 2.8%, marking a second consecutive month below expectations.

Wieladek said food inflation came in notably weaker than expected. He added that even excluding food, most categories’ contributions to May inflation tilted to the downside.

He said U.K. monetary policy appeared to be working, arguing that a prolonged period of restrictive policy had, to some extent, weakened inflation momentum.

As a result, Wieladek said policymakers were likely to conclude there was no need for further rate increases to stabilize inflation, particularly given the impact of the Middle East conflict on the real economy.