The Bank of England has been criticised as ‘overly cautious’ after it maintained interest rates at the same level, despite a fall in inflation.
Figures on Wednesday revealed that inflation fell to 3.4 per cent in February – down from 4 per cent in January and the lowest since September 2021, when it was 3.1 per cent.
The positive news on Wednesday came ahead of the BoE’s latest interest rate decision at noon on Thursday, with policymakers keeping rates on hold at 5.25 per cent.
Following the decision, BoE governor Andrew Bailey said: “In recent weeks we’ve seen further encouraging signs that inflation is coming down.
“We’ve held rates again today at 5.25% because we need to be sure that inflation will fall back to our 2% target and stay there.
“We’re not yet at the point where we can cut interest rates, but things are moving in the right direction.”
However, the decision prompted criticism from the The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) who said the BoE remained ‘overly cautious’ on rate cuts given the inflation slowdown.