Bank of England hikes rates for first time in a decade

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England raised interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years on Thursday and said it expected only "very gradual" further increases over the next three years.

Below are comments from Mark Carney and other members of the Monetary Policy Committee:

CARNEY ON THE HIKE:

"The MPC's primary objective is price stability defined by the government as a 2 percent CPI inflation target. CPI inflation was 3 percent in September and is expected to have risen a little further in October.

"But it isn't so much where inflation is now but where it is going that concerns us. The MPC must set policy to achieve a sustainable return of inflation to target, that is we must aim to bring inflation back to target and to keep it there once the effects of temporary factors, currently predominantly those caused by the referendum-related fall in sterling, dissipate."

CARNEY ON INFLATION:

"With inflation high, slack disappearing and the economy growing at rates above its speed limit, inflation is unlikely to return to the 2 percent target without some increase in interest rates."

CARNEY ON BREXIT:

"(The) Brexit-related constraints on investment and labour supply appear to be reinforcing the marked slowdown that has been evident in recent years in the rate at which the economy can grow without generating inflationary pressures."

CARNEY ON UNCERTAINTY

"While the sheer novelty of the first increase in Bank Rate in a decade creates some uncertainty around its impact, there are reasons to expect it to be no larger than usual."

(Reporting by Kate Holton, Costas Pitas and Alistair Smout)