The Bank of
England (BoE) announced its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously
to maintain Bank Rate at 0.75 percent at its September meeting.
The MPC also
voted unanimously to maintain the corporate bond purchases at £10 billion and
UK government bond purchases at £435 billion.
In its
statement, the BoE says:
- If Brexit
uncertainty persists, inflationary pressures likely be reduce;
- Inflation is
expected to remain slightly below the 2% target in the near term;
- Outlook for
global growth has weakened due to intensified the trade war between the United
States and China;
- Entrenched
Brexit uncertainties and slower global growth have led to the re-emergence of a
margin of excess supply;
- Labour market
appears to remain tight, with the unemployment rate having been just under 4%
since the beginning of this year;
- GDP is now
expected to rise by 0.2% in Q3 (down from +0.3% q/q previously) after falling
by 0.2% in 2019 Q2;
- UK underlying
growth has slowed, but remains slightly positive;
- Monetary policy response to no-deal Brexit would not be automatic and could be
in either direction.