BoE to hold rates until Q2 next year, say economists

They expect the BoE to hike its base rate by the end of the second quarter of 2011, starting with a 25 basis point rise from its present record low of 0.5%, according to the  Reuters poll. For the first time this year, no economist thought the Bank would raise rates before the end of 2010, something considered a foregone conclusion in polls conducted this time last year. Increased austerity measures and a growing chance European economies will follow the U.S. economy in slowing down are overriding concerns about above-target inflation, the poll suggests. The full extent of the gove...