Bank of England holds interest rates at 4% as Budget looms large

In a meeting today (6 November), five MPC members voted to hold rates while the remaining four opted for a 25bps cut to 3.75%. The decision was hard to call ahead of the vote, noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, who said several observers had expected a rate cut even as the market priced in no change. The uncertainty around the decision came after UK inflation came in slightly better than expected in September, remaining at 3.8% for the third consecutive month. Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank chief UK economist Sanjay Raja, also pointed to the fact that Q3 GDP growth cam...