Inflation prompts MPC hawks to abandon rate rise push

Falling inflation in the UK has forced the two MPC members who have been voting for a rate rise since August, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale, to abandon their conviction for the moment. The change in outlook caused sterling to weaken 0.4% against the euro, despite the currency's recent weakness, and 0.3% against the US dollar on 21 January, as an imminent rate rise no longer seems likely. UK inflation fell to a surprise low of 1% in November and has continued to slide since then, dropping to a 15-year low of 0.5% last month. This has made an imminent rate rise significantly less l...