The Bank of England (BoE) will publish its official bank rate tomorrow at 12:00 a.m. GMT (7:00 a.m. EST). The central bank is expected to hold rates at 0.50% and keep its asset purchase program unchanged. The Old Lady turned pessimistic on the U.K. recovery last year as the deflation battle worsened in Europe, and energy prices impacted growth forecasts. After a 7-2 vote at the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) December meeting, the MPC members voted 9-0 in favor of holding rates when longtime dissenters Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty rejoined the majority.
The countdown toward the U.K. general election sits at 91 days, leaving time aplenty for political uncertainty. After joining the U.S. Federal Reserve in the exclusive club of central banks about to abandon easing monetary policy, the BoE will likely wait until after the election to start hiking rates if the state of the economy calls for it.