Bank of England Cuts Interest Rates by 0.25 Points to 4.75 Percent

The Bank of England has slashed interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, taking the base rate to 4.75 percent. The decision by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) came on Thursday amid wide expectations of a cut and reflecting the “continued progress in disinflation.” There was strong consensus among the MPC members, with eight votes in support of the cut and only one vote to hold the rate at 5 percent. The decision comes after official inflation data recorded a rise to 1.7 percent in September, below the BoE’s 2 percent target. The BoE is cautious about slashing interest rates “too fast or by too much.”...