UK should be cautious, but is largely unaffected by Russian market strife, says BoE's Cunliffe

The UK must weigh up risks to its financial system in the wake of Russian market strife, according to Bank of England (BoE) deputy governor Jon Cunliffe.

Although Britain has little exposure to Russia’s economic turmoil, Cunliffe argues that policymakers should look beyond one-off effects from energy and food prices.

"What one needs to watch really carefully in a situation like this is whether that change in investor sentiment towards Russia, the volatility that's going on around Russia, starts to transmit to other markets," Cunliffe told BBC radio.

However, he pointed out that the sharp fall in oil prices was good for the global economy and Britain overall. He also added that the core of the financial system was better equipped than it used to be to handle such situations.