Economists forecast BoE to hold rates at 5.25% through to spring 2024
Most economists in the survey said they did not expect the Bank to cut rates until at least July next year.
Sixty-one out of 73 economists in the poll, conducted between 18 to 23 October, said they believed the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would not raise rates next week, in line with market expectations, or any further.
Only 12 economists forecast a quarter point rise to 5.50% at the November MPC meeting.
UK inflation remains steady at 6.7% in September
Yet expectations of another rate rise from the Bank have not disappeared entirely. Sixteen out of 28 economists said the likelihood of a further increase in rates was high.
The Bank is using interest rate rises to push inflation lower. In September, the UK's annual inflation rate of 6.7% was more than three times higher than the Bank's 2% target.
It is also higher than in most comparable economies such as France (5.7%), Italy (5.6%), Germany (4.3%), the Eurozone average (also 4.3%), and the US (2.6%).
However September's inflation data was not far off what the Bank had expected, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said last week, adding a slowdown in core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was «quite encouraging».
Global investors remain set on Goldilocks soft landing despite bearish stance
According to the Reuters poll, UK inflation is expected to slowly drop in the coming months, but it will not reach its target until the second quarter of 2025. It is predicted to average 3% next year and 2.2% in 2025.
Most economists in the survey said they did not expect the Bank to cut rates until at least July. The mean prediction is for a 0.25% cut in the third quarter. A third of those polled thought the Bank would act sooner.
'Experimental' UK
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