BOE Rate Decision - United Kingdom

The announcement of whether the Bank of England has increased, decreased or maintained the key interest rate. The BoE meets monthly to decide on monetary policy. After each meeting policy decisions are announced. The main task of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is to set the monetary stance by fixing the overnight borrowing rate, which is incremental in determining the short-term rates. Through this mechanism, the BoE attempts to affect price levels in order to keep inflation within the target range while maintaining stable economic growth and employment.

The BOE Rate decision has great influence on financial markets. Changes in rates affect interest rates for consumer loans, mortgages, bond, and the exchange rate of the Pound. Increases in rates or even expectations of increases tend to cause the Pound to appreciate, while rate decreases cause the currency to depreciate.

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee issues a statement with every rate announcement. Because the decision itself is usually highly anticipated, the wording of the BOE statement is usually as important if not even more important than the actual interest rate move made by the central bank. The statement contains the BOE's collective outlook on the economy as well as hints about future monetary policy while the change to interest rates is nothing more than a number. The statement provides clues on plans for the future. When it comes to interest rates, the future direction of rates is usually far more important than its current rate

Relevance: Tends to move markets on release
Release schedule : 11:00 AM GMT (about 7:00 AM EST); Monthly in the first or second week.
Source of report : Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee
Web Address : http://www.bankofengland.co.uk
Address of release : http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/decisions.htm Refer to current year >> Most recent release.