Bank of England voted 8-1 to hold rates

LONDON, March 21 (UPI) -- The Bank of England's decision to keep borrowing costs steady at 5.25 percent passed by an 8-1 vote, minutes of its latest meeting showed Wednesday.

"For most members, the financial market volatility added to the case for holding rates this month," the minutes of the March 7-8 meeting, reported in the Financial Times, said.

"Although some market participants were expecting an increase in (the) bank rate this month, the majority were not," the minutes said.

"An unexpected move by the committee could provide an unwelcome addition to the uncertainty and volatility in financial markets," the minutes added.

During the meeting, one policymaker -- David Blanchflower, an economics professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire who is an external member of the committee -- called for a quarter-point cut, while the Monetary Policy Committee's two newest members -- economists Tim Besley of the London School of Economics and Andrew Sentance of Cranfield University -- decided to keep rates steady, the minutes showed. The two had sought a hike in February.

Analysts said the details of the debate suggest most members in the rate-setting body were prepared to give the three rate hikes since August more time to take effect, the Financial Times reported.