Bank opts to keep Base Rate at 0.5%.
The Bank of England has voted to hold the Bank Base Rate at 0.5% once again.
It has now stood at the record low of 0.5% since March 2009.
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also voted to maintain the size of its asset-buying quantitative easing scheme at £375 billion.
[SPOTLIGHT]Recent months have seen a split in the voting of the MPC, with two members pushing for a 0.25% increase, pointing to factors like improving employment figures.
However, the widely predicted Base Rate rise at the start of next year seems to have been put back, with the markets now pricing the first rise to occur later in the year.
This appears to be at least partly down to the inflation situation. The latest Inflation Report suggested inflation will fall to just 1% within the next six months, half the 2% target that the Bank of England aims for.
More from lovemoney.com:
Autumn Statement 2014: what it means for you
New State Pension to be at least £151.25 a week
Annuity mis-selling leaves up to 1.5m pensioners out of pocket