BoE considers negative rates, but holds for now

Following the yesterday's decision by the US Federal Reserve (The FED) to keep interest rates at historic lows, the Bank of England (BoE) has also decided to hold rates, currently at 0.1 per cent in the UK. In contrast to the FED, the BoE indicated it was beginning to consider taking rates negative to help deal with the evolving economic fallout from COVID 19 and was consulting regulators. There was no change announced to the asset purchase program (QE) though mention was made that no tightening would be considered if the 2% inflation target is not met. Sterling weakened initially following the decision as the idea of negative interest rates prompted a move out of the currency, though declines were largely clawed back. For equities and bonds, reaction to the news was muted, with global market sentiment driving price moves on the day.