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mpc: 24 The Committee discussed the various risks ­ in both directions ­ around these central projections. There were a number of major downside risks to inflation. A more abrupt house price correction was possible, associated with a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the growth of consumption. There might be a slower-than-expected pickup in inflation if wage bargainers and price setters formed their price expectations by extrapolating recent low inflation rates. The narrowing of pricing margins might continue. External demand growth might slacken, in particular if oil prices were to rise even more sharply. And faster-than-expected productivity growth, perhaps as a result of the late '90s boom in information, communications and technology investment, might raise the rate of growth of potential supply. But there were major upside risks to inflation as well. In particular, the narrowing of goods producers' margins might reflect cyclical factors and therefore start to reverse. And, given the degree of labour market tightness, wage inflation might rise more rapidly than expected.