LONDON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England (BoE) announced on Thursday that it has decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75 percent, according to a statement on its official website.
The Monetary Policy Committee has voted by a majority of 6-3 to maintain bank rate at 3.75 percent. Three members voted to increase the rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4 percent.
So far, higher global energy costs have had a limited effect on price and wage setting in the UK. But the longer this volatility persists, the bigger the impact it will have on inflation, and the more likely it is we will need to raise bank rate to ensure that inflation falls back to our 2-percent target, said Andrew Bailey, governor of the BoE. The bank left its policy rate unchanged in April, June and July. ■