The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sets monetary policy in order to meet the 2% inflation target and in a way that helps to sustain growth and employment. At its meeting ending on 6 October, the MPC voted by a majority of 8 - 1 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.5%. The Committee voted unanimously to maintain the stock of purchased assets fin anced by the issuance of central bank reserves at £375 billion. Twelve - month CPI inflation was zero in August, well below the 2% target rate. Around three - quarters of that deviation reflects unusually low contributions from energy, food and other importe d goods ... (full story)