10
Jan
Interest rate held at 5.5%
The Bank of England has opted to keep interest rates unchanged in
its latest meeting, it has been confirmed.
An announcement from the Bank confirmed that its monetary policy
committee (MPC) base rate of interest will remain at 5.5 per
cent.
The move was broadly anticipated by economists who perceive that a
cut will now be due in February.
However, the MPC's decision was likely to have been on a knife edge
amid clamour for a cut from struggling UK retailers, Ian
McCafferty, chief economic advisor at the CBI, said.
He told the Guardian: "The economic news over Christmas was mixed,
and the severity of the slowdown difficult to determine. At the
same time, inflationary pressures from energy and food costs remain
worrying.
"What probably tipped the balance in today's decision was the much
greater calm in the money markets, following the injection of
liquidity by the key central banks in the run up to the critical
year end period."
The bank last cut rates in December when it trimmed a quarter point
off the base rate of interest.
