The Bank of England maintained the rate and slowed down the reduction of the balance sheet

At the end of the September meeting, the Bank of England left the key rate at 4% per annum, which coincided with analysts' forecasts. Seven members of the Monetary Policy Committee supported maintaining the rate, while two supported reducing it by 25 bps.

The regulator also decided to slow down the reduction of the balance sheet, reducing the volume of asset sales during the year to 70 billion pounds (against the previous 100 billion). As a result, assets will be reduced to 488 billion pounds by September 2025. At the same time, the share of long-term bonds in sales will decrease to 20%.

In terms of inflation, the Bank of England noted that the level remained at 3.8% in August (the highest since January 2024) and expects it to accelerate temporarily in September, followed by a gradual decline to the target 2%. There has been progress in disinflation, especially in slowing wage growth, but risks of a short-term price acceleration remain.

The Central Bank emphasized a cautious approach to policy easing: further steps will depend on the dynamics of inflation and economic activity.

The pound weakened slightly after the decision was published, falling to $1.3621 against $1.3651 before the meeting. The FTSE 100 index gained 0.26%.