Print friendly version 18 Jun 2008

Majority voted to hold Base Rate in June

The majority of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members voted to keep the Bank Base Rate at 5% in June, with just one member voting for a 0.25% cut.

David Blanchflower was the only member of the MPC to vote for a change to the Bank Base Rate at its last meeting on 5 June. The minutes of the meeting, published today, showed only one member of the committee felt an immediate reduction in the Base Rate was warranted, due to slowing growth and the impact of declining house prices on household spending.

The minutes stated: “Although a recession in the UK was not the central expectation, there was a small but growing risk of a very negative outcome that would cause inflation to undershoot the target in the medium term. For this member, an immediate reduction in Bank Rate was warranted.”

The next decision on the Base Rate will be announced by the MPC on 10 July 2008.

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