The Bank of England decided to retain its key interest rate unchanged at a record low in a split vote.
At the January meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to hold interest rate at 0.50 percent. The rate has been at the current level since early 2009.
The MPC voted unanimously to maintain quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion.
Ian McCafferty again sought a quarter point hike in rates as he viewed that the risks to domestic cost growth remained to the upside, and given the recent depreciation of sterling, were less likely to be offset by the drag from earlier sterling appreciation.
Other eight members of the committee continued to judge that leaving the stance of monetary policy unchanged would best balance the risks around achieving the MPC’s objective of returning inflation sustainably to the target in around two years’ time.
The actual path that interest rate will follow over the next few years will depend on the economic circumstances, policymakers said.
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