LONDON (Reuters) – Bank of England took another step towards lowering interest rates, with a second official backing a cut and governor Andrew Bailey saying he was “optimistic that things are moving in the right direction.”
The BoE said its Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to hold rates at 5.25%, a 16-year high, after deputy governor Dave Ramsden joined Swati Dhingra in voting in favor of a 5% cut.
Economists polled by Reuters expected another 8-1 vote to hold rates.
The Committee has kept rates steady for six consecutive meetings, but hinted that the first cut since March 2020 – when the pandemic began – could come as early as the next meeting in June, a potential boost for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Britain’s prime minister has told voters the economy is at a turning point but is struggling to reduce the Labor Party’s big lead ahead of this year’s election.
BoE added a line to the post-meeting statement, saying it would closely monitor upcoming economic data.
(Translated by Luca Fratangelo, editing Antonella Cinelli)
