Bank of England cuts interest rates by a quarter point to 4% as balancing act continues

The Bank of England cut interest rates from 4.25% to 4% on Thursday as the central bank resumes a “gradual and careful” approach to lowering interest rates.

The BOE was widely expected to trim rates by 25 basis points at its latest monetary policy meeting, but traders and economists were keen to see the breakdown of support for the decision among the bank’s policymakers.

As it turned out on Thursday, the nine-member MPC voted by a majority of 5–4 to reduce the key interest rate, the “Bank Rate,” by 25 basis points rather than keeping it on hold.

Policy makers have had to weigh up sticky inflation — the consumer price index (CPI) rose to a hotter-than-expected 3.6% in June from 3.4% in May — with a cooling jobs market and lackluster growth. The U.K.’s gross domestic product contracted 0.1% month-on-month in May.

In a statement Thursday, the bank said the MPC “remains focused on squeezing out any existing or emerging persistent inflationary pressures, to return inflation sustainably to its 2% target in the medium term.”