Buxton: November or bust for pre-election rate rise

The Bank of England will hold off on hiking rates for six months if it does not act by November, leaving a "clear run" for investors until the general election, Richard Buxton has predicted.

Minutes from August’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, released last week, showed two members voted for a rate hike – the first such move in over three years. Since March this year, the consensus view has been for rates to go up in Q1 2015, and data this month showing CPI inflation fell from 1.9% to 1.6% in the year to July seems to support this view. One national newspaper last weekend claimed there is a ‘pact’ between Governor Mark Carney and Chancellor George Osborne to keep rates on hold before the election. The story was swiftly denied by officials, but Old Mutual Global Invest...