BoE voted unanimously to keep policy unchanged, minutes reveal

The Bank of England (BoE) voted unanimously to maintain interest rates at 0.5% and its asset purchase programme at £375bn, minutes of the central bank's 4-5 March meeting revealed.

The BoE said its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) set its measures to meet its 2% inflation target in the medium "in a way that helped to sustain growth and employment".

Policymakers expect the Bank Rate to remain below average historical levels for some time to come, warning of the risk that the sterling could strengthen and leave inflation below target for longer. Consumer price inflation slowed in January to 0.3%, its lowest level since records began in 1989. The upward pressure on the sterling comes from British economic prospects relative to the Eurozone's struggles.

All members of the MPC agreed it was more likely than not BoE interest rates would rise over the next three years and saw little change to the economic outlook published in February forecasts.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "We maintain our view that an interest rate hike from 0.50% to 0.75% is most likely in February 2016 - but we still would not be at all surprised if the Bank of England acted just before the end of 2015.

"Much will clearly depend on how much earnings pick up over the coming months, and the softer than expected data for January do raise question marks over this. Sterling developments will also clearly play a significant role in when the Bank of England finally decides to hike interest rates."