The Bank of England kept its rates on hold at 0.75%, as expected, in a unanimous decision despite rumors of the contrary.

The reason why pound plunged following the report is that the central bank joined the Federal Bank, the RBA, RBI and many other central banks, in retreating from plans for multiple interest rate increases  due to the  downgraded economic outlook amid mounting Brexit uncertainty which has been followed by a slow economic downturn

As the  deadline to leave the EU looming (29th March ) and currently no Brexit deal which has depressed spending and confidence, the Bank of England said that “uncertainty had intensified,” and  forecasts 1.2% growth this year, down from 1.7% predicted three months ago. This is largest downgrade since the 2016 referendum according to Bloomberg. The global backdrop has also weakened, as highlighted in the European Commission’s sweeping cuts to the euro-area economic outlook on Thursday.

The messaging was not a positive  one even as potential growth offsets the debate around slack in the economy, meaning less growth is required for inflation; the GBP tumbled on the release, with the 10Y gilt now down at 1.1650.

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The Bank of England’s decision follows recent hawkish statements from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the  European Central Bank.

U.K. officials noted the impact of China’s slowdown and said trade wasn’t contributing as much to growth as they expected.

The forecasts came alongside the latest policy decision made by  Governor Mark Carney. It voted 9-0 to hold the key interest rate at 0.75 percent, as predicted by all economists in a Bloomberg survey. The bank last lifted the rate in August.

 

  • With the final Brexit terms still unresolved, the BOE said that its forecasts would need to be updated “once greater clarity emerged about the nature of EU withdrawal.” Acknowledging the huge impact of uncertainty, it ran an analysis showing that less uncertainty would lead to much stronger growth – 1.6% this year and 2.2% in 2020.
  • Assuming a smooth Brexit, policy makers reiterated that limited and gradual rate increases will be necessary. Nevertheless, the forecasts suggested that just one more quarter-point hike would be needed in the next three years to return inflation to close to the 2 percent target, down from almost three hikes seen in November.
  • The MPC also cut their prediction for business investment to a 2.75% drop this year, having previously forecast a +2% increase.
  • Why Brexit outcomes are so important: On GBP, the MPC highlighted that their forecasts are especially sensitive to moves. A 5% depreciation in GBP would lift inflation to 2.4% percent by the end of 2021, versus 2.1% in the current projections – while a gain of that magnitude would drop the rate to 1.8%.
As a result, investors now see almost no chance of a quarter-point rate move by the end of the year. Furthermore, the BOE bank said that productivity is recovering more slowly than it had thought and that the supply capacity of the economy had shrunk. Officials said that potential supply growth is now a “little below” the 1.5 percent previously estimated.

In two years, the BOE sees demand outstripping supply, implying some inflationary pressure building in the economy. In the near-term, however, inflation will drop below the BOE’s 2 percent goal due to lower oil prices.

The committee also noted how sensitive its forecasts are to swings in the pound. A 5 percent depreciation in sterling would lift inflation to 2.4% by the end of 2021 versus 2.1% in the current projections, while a gain of that magnitude would drop the rate to 1.8 percent. Judging by today’s GBP drop, more inflation, or rather stagflation, may be in the cards.

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