The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee was split 8-1 on interest rates for the fourth month running in March. MPC member Stephen Nickell once again opposed a decision to keep interest rates at 4.5%. He thought the bank was being too optimistic on the economy.
Minutes of the March 8-9 meeting published this morning showed that for some members, signs of recovery in the housing market posed an upside risk to consumption, particularly at a time when economic growth appeared to be picking up.
The MPC said indicators suggested that gross domestic product in the first three months of the year was growing above its long-run potential, with business services activity particularly strong.
For some members, however, downside risks to consumption remained, with some weaker data since Christmas.
The minutes also noted that inflation expectations data needed to be closely monitored and that recent news on gas prices suggested that increases were a bit bigger than thought in February and may come through a little faster than expected then.
