Kathleen Brooks at XTB says: “The Bank of England kept rates on hold on Thursday, however, the interesting part of this meeting was the release of the second Monetary Policy Report of the year. As expected, growth was revised higher, while inflation was revised sharply lower for the UK. The BOE no longer sees UK inflation with a 3% handle in its forecast period, which is out to 2027. This is a big shift for the UK, and suggests, that the UK’s inflation problem is now under control, and price pressures have slowed sharply even though the economy is near full employment. While the BOE thinks that it is too soon to declare victory over the cost-of-living crisis, the BOE also thinks that the key indicators of inflation persistence are moderating, which is helping the overall disinflation trend to continue. The BOE’s forecasts for the unemployment rate were also revised lower, which could mean that the UK economy will get its very own soft landing.”