Bank of England vote 7-1 in favour of holding rates; Hike in rates 'unlikely'

The Bank of England has voted 7-1 against raising rates in their latest interest rate meeting, minutes reveal today.

"July's MPC minutes suggest that a near-term interest rate hike still looks unlikely." said Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics.

The Bank of England's Inflation Report comes out on 11th August.

"July's MPC minutes suggest that a near-term interest rate hike still looks unlikely. As we expected, Andrew Sentence remained on his own in voting for a rate hike, leaving the vote at 7-1. What's more, there were some dovish comments from other members, who noted that the prospects for GDP had deteriorated a little. Admittedly, they continued to flag the risk of a rise in inflation expectations, especially given that inflation during the rest of 2010 was likely to be higher than May's Inflation Report projection. What's more, July's meeting was always likely to be something of a holding operation ahead of next month's Inflation Report, when the MPC will revisit its forecasts." said Loynes.

"In particular, the minutes said that it was too early fully to assess the impact of the Budget on inflation. Nonetheless, most members still seem to think that spare capacity will pull inflation down over the medium-term. And note that the Committee considered the arguments both for tightening and loosening policy - perhaps the clearest steer so far that more QE could yet be on the agenda. Indeed, if the recovery is as weak as we expect, more asset purchases are likely."