Economics

BOE Set to Hold Rates as Officials Face Longer Brexit Paralysis

Economists see key rate staying at 0.75% at decision next week
Officials meet just days before planned EU exit date

A commuter exits an entrance to Bank Underground station in view of the Bank of England in the City of London.Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

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By David Goodman and Harumi Ichikura

March 15, 2019 at 3:36 PM UTC

Updated on

March 16, 2019 at 5:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Any hope Bank of England officials may have had of escaping from Brexit limbo this month has been dashed.

The Monetary Policy Committee’s next interest-rate decision will be announced on Thursday, just a week before the U.K.’s planned March 29 exit date from the European Union. While any kind of delay -- which would still need to be approved by the European Union -- would help avoid the worst-case scenario of a no-deal exit, it’s unlikely to lift the “fog of Brexit” that Governor Mark Carney spoke of last month.