MPC voted massively in favour of interest rates freeze

It has been revealed that the Bank of England''s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted eight to one in favour of keeping interest rates at 5.5 per cent last month, which has decreased the chances of a big cut in interest rates this month.

Experts predicted that the decision would be a close one last month as the economy in Britain was revealed to be growing at its slowest pace for over a year.

Simon Ward, an economist at New Star Asset Management told the Independent: "If you look closely at the minutes, you can see that although one member voted for a cut, some of the others were probably waiting for February''s inflation figures. If things get much worse, the stance may change."

The minutes from the meeting of the MPC revealed that the committee was concerned about keeping control of inflation and putting the government''s two per cent target for annual inflation under "substantial upward pressure".

Current members of the MPC include Mervyn King, Kate barker and Charles Bean.

back