Rate hold decision was unanimous

The decision by the Bank of England`s monetary policy committee (MPC) to hold the base interest rate at 5.75 was unanimous, according to minutes from the meeting.

Although it has been predicted in financial circles that rates will most likely rise to six per cent by the end of 2007, the minutes revealed that most members "had no firm view" on whether another hike was necessary.

Meanwhile, recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that consumer price index inflation dropped from 2.4 per cent in June to 1.9 per cent in July, boosting hopes that inflation was finally cooling.

David Page of Investec told the BBC: "Very much as we expected, 9-0 is the first unanimous vote since May.

"The key quote is that most had no firm view on whether rates would need to rise. We remain of the view that the MPC is in wait-and-see mode."

In other economic news, ONS statistics showed that unemployment in the UK fell by 45,000 during the second quarter of the year.