Bank of England keeps interest rates at 4.25% but hints at cuts to come

The Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) is taking what it calls a ‘gradual and careful’ approach to reducing rates. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

The Bank of England has left interest rates on hold at 4.25%, though it signalled further cuts in the cost of borrowing later this year after “clearer evidence” of rising unemployment amid a slowing economy.

Six members of the Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to keep rates on hold while three supported a reduction to 4%, to add to the four quarter-point cuts since last August.