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Policymakers to meet to discuss interest rates

Policymakers at the Bank of England will meet later to decide whether to change interest rates or implement another round of Quantitative Easing measures.

Most economists expect that the Monetary Policy Committee will not alter their current policy, despite figures released last month indicating that the UK is in a deeper recession than was previously thought.

The chief economist at RBS told the BBC that move was more likely than current figures indicate, although the MPC will most likely stick with its current position.

He commented:“Although there’s been a sharper-than-expected deterioration in key business surveys recently and confidence has taken a hammering as euro-strains become more evident, they [the MPC] could hang on a little longer.

May’s PMI figures were higher than previously expected at 53.3, indicating that the UK service sector is growing at a steady pace.

Likewise, figures from the British Retail Consortium also show that UK sales figures are up 1.3% on the same period in May 2011.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .