No Bank Rate surprises from Carney

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted for no change in the Bank Rate or the size of the quantitative easing (QE) programme.

The base rate remains at 0.5%.

Andrew McPhillips, chief economist at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “The minutes will be pored over for signs that further QE may be on the way but I would be surprised if this was the case.

“UK economic data continues to paint an improving picture of recovery and there has certainly been no deterioration since the meeting last month.

“It also proves that those who were expecting an immediate wholesale change in the view of the MPC once Mark Carney arrived as the new Bank of England Governor were mistaken.

“The biggest change is most likely to follow the publication of the August Inflation Report, when we should hear whether the Bank of England will adopt Federal Reserve-style forward guidance.

“MPC members have historically been reluctant to make any indication of future policy that could be seen as tying their hands. However, it’s likely that next month’s decision will be announced in a way that allows the guidance to be data-dependent allowing room for future changes.”

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