MPC takes cautious stance

THE Monetary Policy Committee chose to sit on its hands today ahead of data showing how the UK economy performed in the third quarter.

The Bank of England base rate was held at 0.5% while the value of its quantitative easing programme was maintained at £375bn.

Later this month, the first estimate of GDP growth in the third quarter will be published revealing whether the UK economy is still officially in recession and it is likely MPC members wanted to see those figures before taking further action.

However, most analysts do expect the MPC to inject further cash into the economy before the end of the year.

Coverage of the MPC’s decisions is brought to readers of TheBusinessDesk.com in partnership with Redmayne-Bentley.

Phillip Wong, from Redmayne-Bentley, said: “There were no surprises at the latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting as rates were left unchanged and no quantitative easing measures were announced.

“Instead, the widely held belief is that QE will increase next month and allows members of the committee to assess the third quarter growth figures that are due out from the Office of National Statistics. With August inflation figures easing back to the Bank of England’s 2% target, there now appears more scope for monetary injections in to the economy.”