Wednesday, 17 July 2013 09:48
Mark Carney's first MPC meeting results in unanimous vote
Members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to hold both interest rates and asset purchases this month.
At new Governor Mark Carney's first meeting on 3-4 July, all members voted to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent and asset purchases at £375bn.
This was a change of opinion for members David Miles and Paul Fisher who have voted for a £50bn increase in asset purchases for the past five months.
However, in the details of the minutes, the Committee states that certain members felt further stimulus was warranted.
"For some members, asset purchases remained an effective tool with which to inject more stimulus although an expansion in the purchase programme was not warranted at this meeting.
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"But for others, the benefits of further asset purchases were likely to be small relative to their potential costs. In particular, further purchases could complicate the transition to a more normal monetary policy at some point in the future."
The committee said it would be "investigating other options" to inject stimulus as well as the asset purchase programme.
Inflation, which currently stands at 2.9 per cent, is expected to reach three per cent and remain close to that level throughout autumn.
The Bank's Inflation Report will be published on 7 August and any information about the Committee's use of forward guidance would be announced then.
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At new Governor Mark Carney's first meeting on 3-4 July, all members voted to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent and asset purchases at £375bn.
This was a change of opinion for members David Miles and Paul Fisher who have voted for a £50bn increase in asset purchases for the past five months.
However, in the details of the minutes, the Committee states that certain members felt further stimulus was warranted.
"For some members, asset purchases remained an effective tool with which to inject more stimulus although an expansion in the purchase programme was not warranted at this meeting.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
"But for others, the benefits of further asset purchases were likely to be small relative to their potential costs. In particular, further purchases could complicate the transition to a more normal monetary policy at some point in the future."
The committee said it would be "investigating other options" to inject stimulus as well as the asset purchase programme.
Inflation, which currently stands at 2.9 per cent, is expected to reach three per cent and remain close to that level throughout autumn.
The Bank's Inflation Report will be published on 7 August and any information about the Committee's use of forward guidance would be announced then.
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