The Bank of England held rates at 5%, as largely expected. The pound surged against the dollar and euro, while the FTSE 100 dipped slightly. European stocks rallied following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
The Bank of England (BoE) kept its Bank Rate steady at 5% during the 19 September meeting, in line with economists’ expectations.
The decision to maintain the policy rate was backed by a clear majority, with eight members voting in favour, while only one member, Swati Dhingra, advocated for a 25 basis point reduction.
The Committee also voted unanimously to reduce the stock of UK government bond purchases held for monetary policy purposes, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, by £100 billion (€84 billion) over the next 12 months, bringing the total to £558 billion (€469 billion).
In August, the BoE had lowered rates by 25 basis points, as annual inflation fell to 2% in July.
Despite…
