The Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney, who held a press conference on Thursday after the central bank kept interest rates at 2.5 percent and cut forecasts for the UK growth in 2017 and 2018, noted that Brexit uncertainty continued to weigh on the UK economy. He estimated the level of investment in the UK economy to be 20 percentage points lower in 2020 than the BoE forecast before the Brexit vote.

Mr. Carney also said that any increases in the BoE rate should to be at a gradual pace and to a limited extent.

He also repeated a call for a Brexit transition arrangement.