The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged for the sixth meeting in a row but Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, said that more encouraging news on inflation could steer the central bank towards cutting borrowing costs as soon as June.
Members of the nine-strong monetary policy committee voted 7-2 in favour of leaving monetary policy stable at 5.25 per cent, a 16-year high. The FTSE 100 rose by 0.20 per cent, or 17 points, to 8,371.06, while pound sterling was broadly stable against the US dollar on the news.
Bailey, in a press conference after the announcement, said there is a chance that the Bank of England will lower interest rates by more than the two to three quarter point rate reductions expected by
