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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
From the Release: "The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £200 billion." |
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| 6/4 | 7/9 | 8/6 | 9/10 | 10/8 | 11/5 | 12/10 | 1/7 | 2/4 | 3/4 | ||
| Actual | 0.50% | 0.5% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | |
| Forecast | 0.50% | 0.5% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | |
| Previous | 0.50% | 0.5% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | |
| Revised From | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
From the Release: "In the light of the Committee’s latest Inflation Report projections and in order to keep inflation on track to meet the 2% inflation target over the medium term, the Committee judged that it was appropriate to maintain Bank Rate at 0.5% and its stock of purchases of government and corporate debt financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £200 billion. The Committee noted that this stock of past purchases, together with the low level of Bank Rate, would continue to impart a substantial monetary stimulus to the economy for some time to come. The Committee will continue to monitor the appropriate scale of the asset purchase programme and further purchases would be made should the outlook warrant them." |
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
With the Bank of England waiting on new growth and inflation forecasts in its February meeting, today's decision was widely predicted and didn't have much impact on the Pound. There is still uncertainty regarding what the Monetary Policy Committee and Governor Mervyn King intend to do with their asset buying plan which is due to take another month to complete. While policy makers are focused on steering the economy back to growth there is a growing debate about what the government will do in regards to tightening its budget deficit which now stands at 12% of GDP this year. The Brown government has to call elections by June and depending on who wins will impact the pace of fiscal tightening. The Bank has to judge that and react accordingly. The economy is beginning to pick up steam fundamental indicators showed this week. December's manufacturing and services PMI's registered strong results, with the manufacturing sector expanding at its quickest pace in 25 months. Housing prices meanwhile are up a 6th straight month according to Halifax Bank of Scotland. Still, with the economy still technically in recession in the 3rd quarter the BOE does not want to remove stimulus by tightening monetary policy.
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
The Bank of England stuck to its target for its asset-purchase program as it tries to ensure the economy's escape from its longest recession on record. The bank is set to review its quantitative easing program again in February, when policy makers will have more data to see how the economy is faring. The bank's Governor Mervyn King has said he has an "open mind" to further bond purchases as removing stimulus too soon could jeopardize the recovery. The UK is then likely to fall behind other central banks like the ECB and SNB that have announced measures to unwind their emergency measures. The Pound traded within yesterday's range against the Dollar and Euro in overnight and early NY morning trading.
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
The Bank of England increased its quantitative easing program by 25 billion pounds to 200 billion, an increase that was smaller than what economists had forecasts. The move implies that while the bank sees the economy recovering it still needs some added flow of credit to underpin the revival. However the small increase in the bond program means that the Bank is likely close to finishing adding more money to it. Since this was the main thing traders were looking at the Pound rose in the wake of the announcement as the increase was smaller than expected. On the economic front, the medium term prospects for output and inflation continue to be determined by the balance between two opposing factors. One, on the positive side, is the considerable stimulus and and loose monetary policy and asset purchases which have helped to boost asset prices and improve access to capital markets. On the downside, "financial institutions continue to repair their balance sheets, limiting the availability of credit." The prospect then for the bank is for "a slow recovery, so that a substantial margin of under-utilized resources persists." The lower sterling is helping to boost exports, while the outlook for inflation is for a sharp rise above the 2% target in the near term. |
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
The Bank of England held rates at 0.50% as was widely expected and said that it would spend the remainder of its 175 billion on-purchase program by November. The bank has so far bought more than 160 billion pounds of government and company bonds. Though some sectors of the economy, like housing, are showing promise, and consumer confidence is on the rise, there are still some spots of persistent weakness. Manufacturing is struggling to grow with output falling by its largest amount since 1992 in August, the unemployment rate has risen to a 14 year high, and inflation remains under pressure. That gives the bank incentive to keep rates low for longer and to take other steps like perhaps expanding the asset-purchase plan. The meeting in November will be an important one, as the bank will have updated figures, and will give an indication of how the bank sees the recovery. |
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
The Bank of England kept rates at 0.50% at the conclusion of today's meeting, and kept its plan to buy as much as 175 billion pounds of assets to bolster the economy. Both decisions were predicted by economists, even after meeting minutes showed that several policy makers argued for a bigger expansion of the bank's asset-purchase plan. The main stock index in London, the FTSE 100, rose above the 5,000 level for the first time since last October, signaling that investors are feeling optimistic. However, though the economy may come out of its recession in the 3rd quarter, growth may be very small. Also, the banking sector is still cautious with how much it lends to consumers, as banks continue to rebuild their capital. |
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
The Bank's announcement that it would expand its quantitative easing program caught market watchers slightly off guard as recent incoming data showed the UK economy beginning to emerge from its recession with manufacturing and services PMI's showing expansion, and housing prices rising. Expectations were for a comment on perhaps winding down the program instead of adding £50 billion to it. Following the release, the Pound was sold off against the Dollar, with the GBP/USD pair relinquishing its gains made earlier in the week. |
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
The Bank of England held rates at 0.5% and maintained in its original form the plan to buy bonds with €125 billion. The bank said it will wait until August and the next batch of inflation data before deciding whether to expand the program. The Bank has two main options, wind down the program and look for an exit from quantitative easing, or expand the program if the bank feels more liquidity is needed in the economy. However, with the economy not yet coming out of recession, it might be too early for policy makers to consider ending their quantitative easing. The Pound was rallying against the greenback prior to the release, and hit a new high near 1.6270 a couple of hours after the release. |
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Actual | Forecast | Previous | Revised Form | |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | N/A | ||
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Provided by: Bank of England
The bank of England left its benchmark rate at 0.50% and said it was committed to keeping up its purchase of bonds that should take another two months to complete. There was no expansion of the plan, which is now in its fourth month. With the economic slump in the UK and elsewhere showing signs of easing, the Bank will assess how the quantitative easing plan is working. Credit still remains tight, and the bank's policies are helping to inject liquidity into credit and money markets. Since interest rates seem poised to remain at their low for some time, traders will be looking for any change in the quantitative easing plans in the next month.
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