MPC's Weale sides with Sentance for 0.25% BoE rate rise

Martin Weale has called for an immediate 0.25% increase in the Bank of England (BoE) base interest rate, echoing the view of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hawk Andrew Sentance.

For months Sentance has been a lone voice, the only member concerned enough by persistent and rising inflation to favour a rise in the base rate. But minutes from the MPC's January meeting show he has now been joined by Weale. Weale's defection to the hawk camp puts more pressure on Bank Governor Mervyn King to act to curb inflation. CPI annual inflation, the government's target measure, as 3.7% in December, up from 3.3% in November. King is charged with keeping that figure at 2%. Six members of the MPC - the Governor, Charles Bean, Paul Tucker, Spencer Dale, Paul Fisher and Dav...