Interest rates should be left unchanged tomorrow because economic confidence is returning and a budget stimulus is planned, a panel of leading experts has concluded. The Times’ shadow monetary policy committee, a group of nine economists and former policymakers, has voted to leave rates at 0.75 per cent this month. Markets expect the Bank’s rate-setting committee to cut rates to 0.5 per cent. This week’s decision will be Mark Carney’s last before he steps down as governor of the Bank. Two of the MPC’s nine members have been voting for a rate cut since November and two others, Gertjan Vlieghe and Silvana Tenreyro, signalled this month that they may join them.

Source: The Times January 28, 2020 17:07 UTC