–BOE MPC voted 8-1 at April meeting for unchanged QE
–BOE MPC Miles voted for stg25bn boost to QE
–BOE MPC: Some support for view CPI fall slower vs expected
–BOE MPC: Greater chance above tgt CPI persisting into med-term
–BOE MPC: Little evidence change of bal risks to inflation
–BOE MPC: Large degree of slack in labour market
–BOE MPC: Risk recession repts, euro zone could hurt sentiment
–BOE MPC: Risk persistent weak growth could hurt supply capacity
–BOE MPC: More aggressive loosening could attenuate that risk}
–BOE MPC: Most thought sensible to wait May forecast round
–BOE Miles: QE vote ‘finely balanced’

LONDON (MNI) – The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s Adam
Posen switched his vote at the April meeting and voted to maintain the
asset purchase programme at stg325bn, leaving only David Miles backing a
stg25bn increase.

The minutes of the meeting released today also show that Miles
regarded his vote as “finely balanced”.

Inflation concerns appear to have become more pronounced
since the previous March meeting of the committee:

“There was a risk that inflation would fall more slowly than
assumed in the February Inflation Report projections, and the flow
of data provided some support for this view”.

The members noted that “underlying activity” was recovering and
that there could be a “greater chance that above-target inflation would
persist into the medium term”.

“For most members, there was no sufficient reason to change either
Bank Rate or the quantity of asset purchases agreed at the Committee’s
February meeting”.

For the majority it seemed sensible to let the present programme of
purchases run its course and assess the policy stance at the May
meeting when a new set of economic forecasts would be available.

The committee expressed a surprising degree of confidence on the
state of the recovery, pointing to a “wide range of surveys” pointing to
moderate growth in H1. The MPC also said it was inclined not to put too
much weight on weak construction sector data from the ONS, even though
this factor as well as the impact of the Royal Jubilee could lead to
further falls in GDP in Q1 and Q2.

MPC members also noted that underlying activity was likely to have
picked up in the second half of last year.

–London newsroom: Tel: +44 207 862 7492; e-mail: dthomas@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$$BE$,MT$$$$]