BoE votes 8-1 on maintaining interest rate unchanged

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Thursday voted by a majority of 8-1 to maintain the benchmark interest rate, or Bank Rate, at 0.5 percent.

The nine-member committee also voted unanimously to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at 375 billion pounds (or 578 U.S. dollars).

In its meeting summary that released simultaneously with the policy decision, the MPC reckons that the risks from the slowing growth of some emerging economies had increased.

But it believed that "global developments do not as yet appear sufficient to alter materially the central outlook described in the August Report, but the greater downside risks to the global environment merit close monitoring for any impact on domestic economic activity."

British domestic momentum is being underpinned by robust real income growth, supportive credit conditions, and elevated business and consumer confidence, said the MPC.

On the expectation of inflation, the MPC noted British inflation was at 0.1 percent in July, far below the central bank's 2 percent goal. And the committee's "best collective judgment" is that there remain at least some underutilized resources in the economy.

"In that light, the Committee intends to set monetary policy in order to ensure that growth is sufficient to absorb the remaining economic slack so as to return inflation to the target within two years," it added. (1 pound = 1.54 U.S. dollars) Endit