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Bank holds rates at 0.5% in July

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  • 10/07/2014
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Bank holds rates at 0.5% in July
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee held Bank Rate at 0.5% in July and the size of the Asset Purchase Programme at £375bn.

This comes despite a hint from deputy governor Minouche Shafik that rates could be about to go up during a grilling from MPs.

Shafik said ensuring a smooth exit from the very low interest rate environment would be one of her biggest challenges.

She also said it is expected the bank would narrow its estimate of the spare capacity in the economy from a previous range of 1-1.5% of GDP, according to the FT. It explained this adds to signals from the BoE that interest rate rises may happen soon.

Shafik said: “If we can start to see improvement in productivity numbers, rates can stay lower for longer. If we don’t we’ll be facing supply pressure and price pressures, and rates will have to go up.”

The MPC minutes will be published at 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday 23 July.

 

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