India, May 8 -- The Bank of England reduced its interest rate by a quarter-point on Thursday, as policymakers judged that higher trade tariffs warrant such action amid slowing inflation.
In a three-way split, the Monetary Policy Committee, governed by Andrew Bailey, lowered the bank rate to 4.25 percent. This was the fourth such reduction since last August.
Among nine members of the MPC, five voted in favor of 25 basis point reduction. Two members, Swati Dhingra and Alan Taylor, sought a bigger 50 basis point cut. External member Catherine Mann and Chief Economist Huw Pill preferred to maintain the bank rate at 4.50 percent. They said holding the rate at this meeting would ensure that monetary policy remain sufficiently restrictive to wei...