The Bank of England on Thursday opted against cutting interest rates amid signs of improvement in the British economy in the run-up to Britain’s imminent departure from the European Union.
The bank said in a statement that its Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to keep the key U.K. interest rate unchanged at 0.75%. The committee split the same way in December, but the strong vote in favor of holding expressed the day before Brexit came as somewhat of a surprise.
Earlier this month, some rate-setters indicated they might be in a position to reduce interest rates.