2013-04-16 10:05:26 +02:00

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8400371
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# MPC minutes: analyst reaction
## The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee maintained its 6-3 split
in favour of keeping rates on hold at 0.5pc this month - seeing no major
change in the medium-term outlook.
![MPC minutes: analyst reaction][1]
MPC minutes: analyst reaction Photo: Reuters
10:31AM GMT 23 Mar 2011
[Comments][2]
### **Hetal Mehta, Daiwa Capital Markets**:
"While the minutes struck a hawkish tone, with the MPC now seeing a
significant risk of inflation rising above 5 percent in the coming months, the
majority of MPC members think it right that they assess the impact of higher
oil prices on economic growth before changing monetary policy.
"Indeed, Charlie Bean's recent comments indicated that he will not be changing
his vote until he has seen the preliminary GDP data for Q2, which we will get
at the end of July, hence feeding into the August decision.
"The minutes also stated that there was no significant shift in the balance of
risks to the medium-term inflation forecast, indicating the Bank may be
willing to look past this temporary upward pressure on inflation.
"We maintain our view that the first interest rate increase will come in
August when the economy is on a firmer footing."
## Related Articles
* ['Raise interest rates before it's too late'][3]
24 Mar 2011
* [Interest rate split: how they voted][4]
23 Mar 2011
* [Inflation could hit 5pc within months][5]
23 Mar 2011
### **Vicky Redwood, Capital Economics:**
"The minutes of March's MPC meeting show that most committee members are still
reluctant to start tightening policy when there is so much uncertainty about
the growth and inflation outlook.
"Those members wanting to keep rates on hold said that it was still not clear
whether or not Q4's drop in GDP was just a temporary blip.
"They also saw merit in waiting to see how the effects of the oil price rise
played out. What's more, the meeting took place before the Japanese
earthquake, which has clearly added even more uncertainty to the global
outlook.
"Admittedly, the MPC wouldn't have seen February's strong inflation figure at
its meeting. But note that the Committee already thought that inflation might
exceed 5 percent in the near-term. So while a near-term rate rise is certainly
still a big risk, we remain of the view that it is not the done deal markets
think.
"And with the Chancellor unlikely to scale back his austerity programme in
this afternoon's Budget, we still think the bigpicture is that rates need to,
and will, remain very low for a long time."
### **James Knightley, ING: **
"The minutes to the Bank of England's March MPC meeting show no positional
shift within the committee. The debate surrounding the decision hasn't really
changed either.
"Our house view is that the first hike will come in the second quarter of
2011, most likely May, but this will be a one-of and not a series of hikes --
we see rates ending 2011 at 1 percent."
### **Howard Archer, IHS Global Insight:**
"The minutes do not come across as appreciably more hawkish than in February
with most MPC members still reluctant to hike interest rates due to concerns
and uncertainties over the growth outlook.
"Massive uncertainty remains over exactly when interest rates will start to
rise. Whether or not the Bank of England hikes interest rates in the second
quarter will depend critically on how well the economy performs over the
coming weeks as the fiscal tightening really kicks in.
"Indeed, more fiscal tightening will take effect in April, which is something
that the MPC will factor in to their deliberations and could well encourage
some committee members to vote for hold off from hiking interest rates in the
second quarter. Wage growth, oil price developments and the impact on the
global economy of events in Japan and Libya will also likely be important
factors.
"While we fully acknowledge that interest rates could very well rise in the
second quarter, we currently hold to the view that the Bank of England will
delay acting until August."
### **Ross Walker, RBS Financial Markets: **
"It's broadly as expected. We didn't expect any more dissenters this month.
It's the same dilemma, weighing up competing risks of rising inflation versus
still weak activity numbers."
"For us the key issue to get some of the "No" camp to move is to see some pick
up in the activity numbers after the weak Q4. The inflation numbers are
sufficiently bad but if activity does not pick up they may hold off in May.
"Our view is that there will be a quarter point rise in May and another one in
August but that will be it for the year."
### **Alan Clarke, BNP Paribas:**
"Broadly as expected. I think it is a slight evolution in the hawkish
direction, particularly the emphasis on inflation likely to be above 5 percent
and signs of higher pay pressures and concerns that externally-generated
inflation, especially from commodities, threatens the medium-term inflation
outlook.
"They are moving in a hawkish direction, but for those members reluctant to
hike, the uncertainty that is holding them back has got even worse.
"Until there is more clarity, I think they will be reluctant to pull the
trigger on rate hikes. For now, the worsening in the inflation data since this
meeting continues to favour a rate hike in May, but it is a close call.
"The particular focus here is on consumer spending and consumer confidence, so
Thursday's retail sales figures could be pretty important."
### **Philip Shaw, Investec:**
"It doesn't look as though the MPC is any closer towards deciding to push
rates up in the near term. The committee concluded that as a result of recent
events there was greater uncertainty with regard to the outlook for both
inflation and output, but that the balance of risks overall was largely
unchanged.
"Some members of the committee also also appeared a bit more concerned over
some of the weakness in consumer spending. Overall, we continue to think that
rates will probably stay on hold for the next few months, and while a May hike
is clearly possible, we still tend towards the view that the softness in high
street activity, in particular, will encourage the MPC to maintain the curent
stance of policy until August."
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