The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep interest rates at 0.5 percent, it was announced on Thursday.
The FTSE 100 slipped this morning in anticipation of the news, as the so-called ‘Super Thursday’ nerves began to take hold. McCafferty and Saunders, the two MPC members most in favour of a rate hike, chose to keep rates at their current level alongside all other members of the committee.
Borrowing costs weren’t necessarily expected to rise today, and investors are now looking to May, when a vote to raise rates is expected.
The FTSE suffered on Thursday morning, barely recovering from falls over the last two days in the wake of a global stock sell-off after US employment results. At mid morning the index was down about 45 points, with mining giants Randgold, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta all down around 3 percent.