Bank of England holds rates at 5.25% in final pre-election decision

Two MPC members voted again for a 25 basis points cut to 5%, against a majority of seven, who opted to hold rates. The move follows positive inflation data for May from the Office for National Statistics, which revealed yesterday that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell back to 2% for the 12 months to May 2024 – reaching the BoE's inflation target. The most concerning data, however, included core CPI, which stood at 3.5% last month, and services inflation at 5.7%, while wage growth remained around 6% year-on-year. As a result, speculation abounds on when the central bank will begi...