The Bank of England released their most recent policy meeting minutes on Thursday. Data released shows that the monetary policy committee voted 8 to 1 to keep rates at their current level of 0.5%. Ian McCafferty was the only member that voted to increase the rates by 0.25%, up to 0.75%. McCafferty has voted to raise the rates for the past four months.
All members voted 9 to 0 in favor of keeping the ECB’s asset purchase program at €375 billion.
Inflation growth was hindered by lower oil prices and stagnant wage growth. Sustained firming is not present to reach the 2% target inflation rate growth that the bank has set. Core inflation remains stagnant, while inflation numbers may reach positive territory in November, according to the meeting.
Many investors believe that the Bank of England will increase interest rates in 2016, moving cautiously with their decision. The GBP/USD is down on the day to 1.5174, or 0.06%. The euro has declined against the pound, with the EUR/GBP down 0.67% to 0.7214 on the day. European markets were down of the whole on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.63% at close. France’s CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 were also down 0.03% and 0.36% on the day. Germany’s DAX close the day up 0.12%.
