Bank of England Vote Unanimously To Hold Interest Rates
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Thursday 19th September 2019 - 12:05 (BST)
The Bank of England voted unanimously to hold interest rates as fears of a recession in the UK have begun to subside following positive economic data last week. Figures released last Monday indicated that UK GDP grew by 0.3% versus a market expectation of only 0.1% over July, whilst manufacturing and industrial production numbers were also up over the month and year.
This, combined with a UK trade balance figure £46B better than expected, has given policy makers the confidence to leave the interest rates unchanged. This is also the thirteenth successive month there has been a hold with the last base rate change all the way back on the 2nd August 2018, when it increased from 0.50% to 0.75%.
Economists believe the Bank of England will continue to put off any rate moves due to economic weakness in Europe and the risk of a disruptive Brexit. This bucks the trend in recent weeks where the US, India, Thailand and New Zealand central banks have all cut interest rates – some by as much as 50 basis points.
