LONDON (MNI) – The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee left
both the total amount of quantitative easing unchanged at stg200 billion
and Bank Rate unchanged at 0.5% following its monthly meeting today.
The decision was in line with market expectations, with almost
no-one in the markets anticipating any change to the current emergency
settings of monetary policy, given the imminence of the general
election (May 6) and the assumption that the MPC would want to be seen
to steer clear of any hint of political involvement.
The MPC did not release an accompanying statement – which is in
line with normal practice when there is no change in policy.
That view has been reinforced of late by signs of emerging strength
in the economy. This may have been behind the BOE MPC decision to drop
its previous pro-forma statement that the scale of the QE programme
would be kept under review.
–London newsroom: 4420 7634 1623 email: ukeditorial@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,M$$BE$,MABPR$]
