The Bank of England (BoE) has left the base rate unchanged at 0.1%

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously for the BoE to maintain the stock of sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £20bn.

Furthermore, the MPC voted unanimously for the BoE to continue with the programme of £100bn of UK government bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, and also to commence the previously announced programme of £150bn of UK government bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, maintaining the target for the stock of these government bond purchases at £875bn and so the total target stock of asset purchases at £895bn.

Laith Khalaf, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said: “The Bank of England won’t make its next move until it knows which way Brexit is heading. In the event of no-deal, it would likely be willing to look through the temporary jump in inflation as a result of weaker sterling and the imposition of tariffs, but it couldn’t turn a blind eye to the economic impact of a disorderly Brexit.

“Whether or not the Bank chooses to cut rates in 2021 or not, the outlook for cash doesn’t alter that significantly. Almost 12 years on from bank rate being cut to the emergency level of 0.5%, we’re still stuck in the lower for longer doldrums. Savers will struggle to get a real return on money in the bank, and yet around £150bn has been squirreled away into cash products over the course of 2020. While there’s little other option for rainy day funds, savers should consider moving longer term money out of cash and into more productive assets.”

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