Only one member of the Bank of England's interest rate-setting committee voted to raise the cost of borrowing earlier this month, it emerged yesterday.
Although the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) considered a hike might help discourage unsustainable rates of house price inflation, eight of its nine members voted to keep rates on hold at four per cent.
Evidence from the meeting two weeks ago that the Bank was concerned about house prices and strong consumer spending raised the prospect of a rise next month.
Minutes of the MPC meeting showed deputy governor Sir Andrew Large was the only member who voted against keeping base rates at four per cent, preferring a 0.25 per cent rise.
Thursday April 22, 2004
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