Bank’s rate decision leaves frustrated Reeves praying for an August cut

Inflation is expected to remain near 3.4% for the rest of the year – well above the Bank’s 2% target. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Last week’s spending review revealed Rachel Reeves’s plan for reviving the UK’s struggling economy – but one of the most powerful levers for unleashing growth lies out of her reach, at the Bank of England.

Thursday’s no-change decision on interest rates from the Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) was widely expected; but the chancellor and her colleagues will be fervently hoping for a cut in August, perhaps sooner – and more before the year is up.