Market News
Bank of England cuts rates, sees higher inflation and weaker growth - REUTERS
LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The Bank of England lowered interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday, judging a sharp upward revision to its inflation forecasts for this year will prove temporary, while two officials called for a bigger rate cut against a backdrop of weaker growth.
The cut to 4.5% was in line with economists' expectations in a Reuters poll, but the two dissenting votes from external members Catherine Mann and Swati Dhingra in favour of a bigger rate cut to 4.25% were not.
Mann until now had generally opposed rate cuts, though she had previously said that a switch to more active policy loosening would be needed at some point.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the BoE would be "monitoring the UK economy and global developments very closely and taking a gradual and careful approach to reducing rates further" - a shift from December's language where he spoke only of a "gradual" approach.
