Bank of England to delay interest rates decision – by two minutes
The Bank of England will delay the release of its latest decision on interest rates this Thursday – by two minutes.
The highly unusual change was made to accommodate a two-minute silence to commemorate Victory in Europe Day this week.
It means Brits will only be informed about the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s decision to cut interest rates at 12:02 rather than 12:00.
Dates for interest rate decisions are rarely changed by the Bank.
The Bank of England last postponed an interest rates meeting in September 2022 after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The stakes were high then as former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was preparing a so-called mini-budget, which ended up sparking turmoil in markets and forced the Bank to change course on emergency purchases of government bonds.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also postponed key health data to respect a period of mourning for the late Queen.
An MPC decision was also moved back by four days in 2010 to avoid a clash with the date of that year’s general election.
Major events overseas can also force the hand of governments and key officials to intervene on economic announcements and processes.
The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq did not open on September 11 2001 after attacks on the World Trade Centre in the afternoon.
The NYSE only opened again a week later, its longest closure since 1933, one of the worst years of the Great Depression.
It also paused trading in 2016 for one minute to mark the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The small delay is unlikely to be a cause of concern for investors and policymakers across the UK but this week’s decision is widely seen as crucial in light of President Trump’s tariff announcements last month.
The Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent.
But a change in its “gradual and careful” rate-cutting approach has been mooted by analysts at Oxford Economics and Deutsche Bank.
Markets are currently pricing in around four cuts until the end of the year while banking giant Morgan Stanley have suggested rates could drop as low as 3.25 per cent.