Last month, despite many forecasts from economists that interest rates would be cut, the MPC voted to leave the Bank Rate at 0.5pc by an eight-to-one majority. The growth outlook for 2018 was cut to 1.8 percent.
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The Bank of England has cut interest rates to an all-time low of 0.25%, lowering borrowing costs for households and businesses.
Further policy loosening in the United Kingdom helped push European shares up 0.6%, while the dollar rose 0.3% against a currency basket, drawing strength from a stronger-than-expected ADP jobs number on Wednesday.
“The market has been surprised before and wants to make sure that they’re prepared in either direction”, Krosby said.
The US markets have also been slightly buoyed by the news, with the Dow Jones gaining 0.02% across the morning and the Nasdaq up 0.19% since opening. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1 point to 2,162.
The massive stimulus package announced on Thursday was appropriate to deal with the high uncertainty caused by “Brexit”, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said. “This is a timely, coherent and comprehensive package of measures”, he said.
Thursday’s decision underscored the bank’s concern about an economy that has taken a sharp turn lower since the vote to leave the EU.
The pound slid by at least one percent against all major currencies and lost 1.4 percent against the U.S. dollar.
The BoE has also started to buy corporate bonds in big quantities for the first time, and Broadbent did not rule out purchases of funds holding company shares in future, though it is not something the MPC has considered yet.
US stocks are hardly changed Thursday as the market continues the small moves it’s made in the last few weeks.
Facebook rose 1.85 dollars (£1.41), or 1.5%, to 124.36 dollars (£94.89), and Broadcom gained 2.88 dollars (£2.19), or 1.8%, to 166.99 dollars (£127.42).
Mobile payments company Square climbed after it reported strong second-quarter results and raised its projections for the year. MSCI’s world stocks index rose 0.1 per cent on Friday.
Brent crude futures rose 1.0 percent on Thursday to $43.55 per barrel, extending its recovery from Monday’s four-month low of $41.41 while US crude futures gained 1.2 percent to $41.33 per barrel. Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, dropped 6 cents to $43.04 a barrel in London.
The bank forecast that Britain would avoid recession but Carney warned of a significant slowdown, unemployment rising to 5.5 percent from 5 percent and falling house prices over the next year. Nike said it will focus on apparel and shoes instead.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.37 a gallon. Heating oil added 4 cents to $1.33 a gallon.
Spot gold prices were up 0.42 per cent to $1,363.21 an ounce.
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The euro dipped to $1.1149, slipping from 5-week high of $1.1234 touched on Monday. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.4 percent. Yields on 10-year Australian and Japanese debt sank at least one basis point, as the notes joined a rally in bonds globally.
