News Release
Bank of England Reduces Interest Rates by 0.25% to 7.25%
08 October 1998
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to reduce the Bank's repo rate by 0.25% to 7.25%.
The international economic and financial environment has deteriorated since the Committee met in September. In the domestic economy, surveys and reports from the Bank's regional Agents have indicated a decline in business and consumer confidence. The outlook for demand and output has therefore weakened. Despite continuing tightness in the labour market and the fall in the exchange rate, the Committee judges that the risks of inflation falling below the target of 2.5% have increased and that a reduction in interest rates of 0.25% is now appropriate.
The minutes of the meeting held in September will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 14 October. The Committee has decided that it will in future publish the minutes of its monthly meetings on the Wednesday of the second week after each meeting takes place. The minutes of the meeting which ended this morning will therefore be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 21 October. A fuller statement on the publication of the minutes will be released shortly.
