The Bank of England (BOE) held interest rates steady at 0.25 percent, as expected, on Thursday while implementing some widely anticipated modifications to its growth and inflation assumptions over the three-year forecast horizon.
Meantime, the Bank maintained stock levels of government bonds and corporate bonds at £435 billion and £10 billion, respectively, also as expected.
While the BOE was widely seen holding rates steady at 0.25 percent, speculation had centered on whether committee member Kristin Forbes would maintain her dissenting vote for a 25 basis point rise in interest rates as per her stance at the March meeting - and if so, whether she would be joined by one or two more policymakers, most likely seen to be Michael Saunders or Ian McCafferty.
In the end, Forbes remained the sole dissenter with a resulting 7-1 split among policymakers (the committee is currently one member short as Charlotte Hogg`s seat has not been filled since her recent resignation).
Sterling dropped lower on the news with the 7-1 split seen as fairly dovish by the market. The currency slipped to 1.288 against the dollar after trading near 1.292 before the announcement.
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