Bank of England MPC Votes to Keep Rate but Hints at Near Future Cut
As expected, today the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met and voted to keep the standard base interest rate at the 16-year high of 5.25%. Their decision is based on the fact the current report on inflation reveals it at 3.2%. The expectation is for inflation to decline in the next report much closer to the target rate of 2.0%. Had the MPC meeting come after the May update on inflation, perhaps a cut might have occurred if indeed it does drop nearer to target. The MPC had to vote according to the information at hand versus the expected inflation data that will be available on 22 May.