Bank of England split on interest rates widens

[February 23, 2011]  LONDON (AP) -- Another Bank of England policy maker has voted for an interest rate rise -- heightening expectations that the central bank will announce a hike in coming months.

Minutes from February's Monetary Policy Committee meeting released on Wednesday show that a third member of the nine-strong grouping has backed a rate rise. The remaining six members voted to keep rates at the current record low of 0.5 percent.

One of those six also voted to restart the bank's program of boosting the money supply, or so-called quantitative easing.

Policy makers have been increasingly split on the direction of monetary policy following surging inflation and a shock decline in the economy in the final quarter of last year.

[Associated Press]

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