Bank of England interest rate announcement now out 22 March
- bank rate 0.5% as exp/prev
- vote 7 for hold vs 2 for hike
- asset purchase target GBP435bln as exp/prev
- corp bond target GBP 10bln as exp/prev
As per my preview it's the vote count change to watch out for but hike expectations factored in .
- McCafferty and Saunders voted to hike
- Dissenters saw widespread evidence of near-zero slack and accelerating wage growth
- May IR would allow a fuller view of underlying economic momentum
- MPC note poor weather to have negative impact on Q1 GDP, offset by mining & quarrying output
- Net trade, business investment contributing less than anticipated at present
- Latest activity suggests Q1 2018 growth now similar to Q4 2017 (0.3%)
- MPC unanimous in vote to maintain UK government bond purchases at GBP435B; APF at GBP10B
- Recent data broadly in line with Feb QIR outlook
- Impact of US tariffs likely to be limited, however, an unwelcome situation
GBPUSD 1.4215 EURGBP 0.8682 GBPJPY