Roundup: British central bank keeps interest rate on hold, beating expectations

The Bank of England (BoE) Thursday decided to keep its main interest rate, or Bank Rate, unchanged at 0.5 percent, despite speculation it would cut rates.

The central bank also kept the quantitative easing (QE) policy at 375 billion pounds (or 500 billion U.S. dollars).

Mark Carney, the governor of BoE, had indicated a cut in the bank rate from its record low of 0.5 percent days before. "The economic outlook has deteriorated and some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer," said Carney.

Many economists expected BoE would cut the bank rate this month. But the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 8 to 1 to leave rates unchanged. Only one member of the MPC, Jan Vlieghe, voted for a rate cut this month.

"The MPC's decision to leave interest rates and its stock of asset purchases unchanged today disappointed markets -- and us," said Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at economic research consultancy Capital Economics.

Loynes believed it was now vitally important the decision met expectations, with market confidence fragile.

MPC meeting minutes showed the committee was committed to taking whatever action is needed to support growth and to return inflation to the target over an appropriate horizon. Most members of the committee expected monetary policy to be loosened in August.

"We expect a 0.25 percent rate cut in August and also a 75-billion-pound expansion of the QE program, perhaps also in August. But having disappointed the markets once, the committee may now have to work harder than otherwise to sustain the sanguine response to the Brexit vote," said Loynes. Endit