MPC interest rate hawks tamed by Greek crisis

The MPC voted unanimously for rates to stay at 0.5% at its July meeting, and for no further quantitative easing beyond the £375bn of assets already purchased. Some members had wanted to push for a small rate rise, arguing there is a risk medium-term inflation will rise above the committee's 2% target. But uncertainty caused by the latest twists in the economic and political sagas in Greece forced them to rethink their stance. "[Greece] was a very material factor in their decisions: absent that uncertainty, the decision between holding Bank Rate at its current level versus a small i...