One reason to be tentative, many economists say, is that monetary conditions have changed markedly.

"The economies are enjoying strong stimulus from easing monetary conditions," he said.

Already we should be persuaded that the Bank has considerable power to influence monetary conditions.

The decrease in gold exports was considered by some to be a result of changing monetary conditions.

Thus, differences beyond those relating to just monetary conditions must be acknowledged when using proxy data, as sometimes their use is unavoidable.

Accordingly, the management of the exchange rate will influence domestic monetary conditions.

As central banks around the world tightened monetary conditions, investors appeared to lose all appetite for taking risks.

There are a number of reasons for this: lower inflation, recent tax reductions and more favourable monetary conditions.

Meanwhile, monetary conditions are no longer as loose as many think.

With the economy showing signs of life, the bank has been under less pressure to ease monetary conditions.