TechFlow news, March 17 — According to Jinshi Data, the Bank of England is likely to hold interest rates steady on Thursday and maintain its cautious, gradualist stance as it grapples with the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and mixed economic signals from the UK economy.
All 61 economists surveyed by Reuters last week expect the Bank of England to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5%. The next rate cut is anticipated in May, followed by further reductions in August and November.
The survey also indicates that the vote on this week’s rate decision is expected to be 7:2. Although there has been limited new economic data from the UK since the Bank’s last rate cut on February 6, Trump’s sporadic announcements of tariffs on U.S. allies have disrupted financial markets and raised questions about the global inflation outlook.
"Global developments around tariffs and defense spending have complex implications," said Martin Söderlund, HSBC’s senior UK economist. "We suspect the Bank of England will not rush to judge what all this means for the UK economy in the absence of concrete information."
