Bank of England building
The Monetary Policy Committee continued to disagree on the best policy for quantitative easing this month.
Minutes of the meeting held on 3-4 April reveal a split with three members voting for a £25bn increase to the programme.
Governor Mervyn King, Paul Fisher, David Miles all voted for an increase for the third consecutive month. However, they were outvoted by the remaining six members who choose to hold rates at £375bn.
The reasons given for an increase were continued weak wage growth and subdued growth prospects.
Those who disagreed cited above-target inflation and the possibility of weakness in sterling with implications for wages and prices.
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The committee unanimously voted to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent, a rate held since March 2009.
The minutes also noted Chancellor George Osborne's new remit for monetary policy. This states that monetary policy should aim for the two per cent inflation target but in a way that "avoided undesirable volatility in output".
Inflation currently stands at 2.8 per cent and is expected to increase further to reach three per cent by the middle of the year.
The next meeting will be held on 8-9 May with the minutes published on 22 May.
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