"Governor, construction activity is still reasonably strong as projects that were already in the pipeline get completed, but there's not a lot of new work coming into the sector.

"Are you worried that this is emblematic of the broader lags in the economy in the transmission of monetary policy and that perhaps the economy might snap later this year when the downturn in new orders catches up with economic activity?"

"So [I wouldn't use] the word snap, but you've highlighted one of the points I think that is one [that makes us] get wary.

"We talked a little bit earlier about budgets and so on as well as other things going on, and you've highlighted one of them, which is the lack of the construction pipeline.

"So it's quite possible that the private sector will turn out to be not driving demand very much in the following years. So there is a risk that that has an impact on employment.

"And, therefore, if that happens, and it does happen more quickly than we expect, then rate cuts will be on the agenda. So again, we can't rule anything in, we can't rule anything out. It will depend very much on what happens and it happens on the private side of the economy as well."