Six Bank of England members vote to keep rates at 0.5%

There was no change in the number of Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee members voting for an increase in interest rates last month, according to minutes of their meeting released this week.

Three members voted to increase interest rates, with two voting for a 0.25% increase and one voting for a 0.5% increase. Six of the nine members voted to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5%.

But despite February’s vote, there is pressure on the Bank to increase rates, especially after this week’s inflation figures were released. Retail price inflation was 5.5% in February, the highest level since 1991.

The Bank expects the rate of inflation to fall later in the year but this will increase the pressure for rate increases sooner, rather than later.