"We end up basically in the same place as the economy after a substantial stimulus package from the Bank of England, and from stimulus from a fairly sharp depreciation in the currency - so broad-brush, that's there".
- Mark Carney, Bank of England
The Bank of England left its key interest rates on hold but revised upwards its growth and inflation forecasts at its monetary policy meeting on Thursday. Policymakers voted anonymously to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25%, which was cut in August. Furthermore, the Central bank kept its corporate and government bond-purchase programs unchanged at 10 billion and 435 billion pounds, respectively. Meanwhile, the 2017 inflation forecast was revised up to 2.7% from 2.0% estimated in August, following the weak British Pound. However, inflation is expected to cool down by the end of 2019, falling to 2.5% and further. The 2016 GDP forecast was revised up to 2.2% from August's 2.0%, supported by the stronger than expected household spending, rebound in the housing market and improvements in both business and sentiment indicators despite the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote. Moreover, the Bank of England revised up its GDP growth projections for 2017 to 1.4% from the previous estimate of 0.8%. The Bank noted that output growth is expected to be stronger in the near-term but weaker than previously estimated. Therefore, the 2018 GDP forecast was revised down to 1.5% from August's estimate pf 1.8%.
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