Bank Of England Holds Key Rate As Expected

(RTTNews) - The Bank of England maintained its benchmark rate on Thursday, amid intensifying uncertainty over global trade policy.

The nine-member committee voted 8-1 to maintain the Bank Rate at 4.5 percent. Swati Dhingra sought a quarter point reduction.

Previously, the BoE had reduced the rate by 25 basis points in February after two such reductions last year.

"There was no presumption that monetary policy was on a pre-set path over the next few meetings," the bank said.

"Monetary policy would need to continue to remain restrictive for sufficiently long until the risks to inflation returning sustainably to the 2% target in the medium term had dissipated further," said BoE.

"The Committee would decide the appropriate degree of monetary policy restrictiveness at each meeting," the bank added.

Bank staff forecast the economy to grow around 0.25 percent in the first quarter of 2025. Inflation is projected to rise further in the near-term to about 3.75 percent in the third quarter.