LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The Bank of England's policymaking body was unanimous in deciding to maintain status quo in December, the minutes of the final rate-setting session of the year revealed Wednesday.
The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Mervyn King, left the size of bond purchases unchanged at GBP 275 billion and kept the key interest rate at 0.50 percent at the end of the two-day meeting held on December 7 and 8.
Policymakers saw little merit in changing the path of asset purchases in December given the magnitude of the current uncertainties, especially those in the external environment, the minutes said. However, the balance of risks to inflation, as projected in the November Inflation Report, suggests that a further expansion of the asset purchases programme might well become warranted in due course, some members said.
'Of those members, some thought that the outlook had deteriorated somewhat on the month, and noted the further weakening in the labour market and increased concerns for credit supply arising from the continuing strains in bank funding markets,' the minutes said.
Despite the near-term outlook of weak demand, the MPC's central view remained that there would be some recovery in the latter part of 2012, the minutes added.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX