-BoE minutes
Bank of England policy makers voted unanimously in July to hold the central bank's key interest rate unchanged. Yet, their unanimity masks increasingly lively discussions over the timing of interest rate hike. Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee's July policy meeting showed all nine members of rate-setting board voted to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5% and leave the central bank's bond portfolio at 375 billion pounds. The time for an interest rate hike is approaching and it is "highly likely" that rates will continue to rise over the next few years, BoE policy maker David Miles said. Miles also added that the key issue for the BoE was judging the moment at which diminishing slack in the UK economy and increasing cost pressures warrant raising rates from their record low 0.5%. Investors are doubtful, however, that a rate lift will command majority support until early 2016.
Earlier this month BOE Governor Mark Carney said that he expected the question of when to begin raising rates "to come into sharper relief" at the turn of the year. In addition to that, Carney pointed out that investors should keep the headwinds facing the British economy in mind as the central bank approaches raising interest rates from a record low.
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