The Bank of England (BOE) held a Monetary Policy Committee meeting on June 19 (local time) and decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.25% per annum.
At this meeting, six out of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted in favor of maintaining the current rate, while the remaining three members supported a 0.25 percentage point cut.
In a statement released on the same day, BOE Governor Andrew Bailey said, "Interest rates remain on a gradual downward path," and indicated the possibility of a rate cut at the committee meeting scheduled for August 7.
However, he also emphasized, "The world is highly unpredictable, and there are signs of weakening in the UK labor market." He added, "We will closely monitor how these signs affect the Consumer Price Index (CPI)."
The BOE repeatedly referred to the uncertainty of the global economy.
The BOE stated, "There have been significant geopolitical developments ahead of this committee meeting," and said it will continue to monitor these closely. The central bank also noted, "Energy prices have risen due to escalating conflict in the Middle East." It added, "The committee will remain highly responsive to heightened unpredictability in the economic and geopolitical environment and will continue to update its risk assessments for the economy."
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