The Bank of England left its policy rate on hold today (January 30), in a decision that proved to be less of a close call than many investors had predicted.

Market pricing earlier this week had implied a 50% chance of a cut, but ultimately only two members of the monetary policy committee backed a cut, the same as the previous two meetings. Many observers had expected Gertjan Vlieghe to join Jonathan Haskel and Michael Saunders in dissenting.

The BoE’s main rate therefore remains at 0.75%