Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee March minutes: private domestic demand remains solid

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) released its March meeting minutes on Thursday. All members voted to keep the central bank's monetary policy unchanged. Ian McCafferty, who voted to hike interest rate by 0.25% since August 2015, changed his mind in February.

The consumer price inflation in the U.K. was 0.3% in January, below the central bank's 2% target. The BoE noted that inflation was driven by declines in energy and food prices.

The BoE noted that the private domestic demand remained solid, while the labour market strengthened.

The central bank said that there are downside risks to the global growth and to the central bank's forecasts from the slowdown in emerging economies.

The BoE noted that the pound depreciated due to the uncertainty around the referendum on U.K. membership of the European Union, and it could weigh on the domestic demand.

All MPC members agreed to hike interest rate gradually once the BoE starts raising its interest rate and "to a lower level than in recent cycles", adding that further interest rate decision will depend on the incoming economic data.