Bank holds rates but cuts likely in near-term

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5% as expected to avoid provoking inflation. But th...

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5% as expected to avoid provoking inflation. But the consensus among asset management economists is that there are more rate cuts ahead. Axa Investment Management senior strategist Chris Iggo said the MPC has successfully caused growth to slow to below-trend levels in the hope of bringing inflation under control. “Over the last couple of weeks the economic data news flow has deteriorated sharply,” he said. “This is what the MPC wants but it appears reluctant to cut interest rates too quickly before it is clear that spare capacity is emer...