BoE voted for cut by 8-1
The Bank of England's (BoE) monetary policy committee (MPC) approved last month's 0.25 per cent reduction of the base rate of interest by eight to one, minutes from the meeting reveal. Earlier this month, the MPC announced the cut - which brought the key base rate down to 5.25 per cent - in a bid to stimulate the UK economy amid signs of stagnating growth. The member of the MPC who voted against the move was David Blanchflower who had argued for a cut of 0.5 per cent. Mr Blanchflower lobbied for the more substantial cut after noticing "similarities between the recent data and outlook for the United Kingdom and those for the United States several months previously, especially in the labour market". Commenting on developments, Howard Archer, of analysts Global Insight, said: "We expect the Bank of England to trim interest rates by a further 25 basis points to five per cent in April or May, with the exact timing depending critically on just how weak the economic data is over the coming weeks and whether or not inflation expectations appear to be at least stabilising."
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