Central Banks
Dovish Bank of England Hold Spurs Bets on Faster Rate Cuts
Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey during a monetary policy report news conference at the central bank's headquarters in London.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThe Bank of England came within a vote of cutting interest rates and predicted inflation will fall below its target, a closer-than-expected decision that revived hopes of a move next month.
Governor Andrew Bailey was once again the swing voter in a 5-4 decision to leave rates unchanged at 3.75%, choosing to hold policy having cut at the last meeting in December. Bailey said in a statement that “there should be scope for some further reduction in bank rate this year,” as the BOE predicted inflation near its 2% target in April as well as slowing growth and rising unemployment.