June 19 (UPI) -- The Bank of England left its interest rates on hold at 4.25% at its Thursday meeting, though the bank has indicated that cuts were coming later in this year.
Six out of nine members of the bank's monetary policy committee voted to keep the rates on hold, while the other three opted for a reduction to 4%.
"Underlying U.K. GDP [gross domestic product] growth appears to have remained weak, and the labor market has continued to loosen, leading to clearer signs that a margin of slack has opened up over time," the central bank said in a statement.
"Measures of pay growth have continued to moderate and, as in May, the committee expects a significant slowing over the rest of the year," it said, adding that the Monetary Policy Committee "remains vigilant about the extent to which easing pay pressures will feed through to consumer price inflation."
The economy had a boost of 0.7% in the first three months, but shrank by 0.3% in April, showcased a cooling in the GDP. Unemployment rates increased and wage growth slowed.
