Carney Loses Rates Consensus as Bank of England Splits

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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney lost his consensus on interest rates this month as two policy makers broke ranks and voted for higher borrowing costs.

In the first split on the benchmark rate in more than three years, Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty wanted to raise it by 25 basis points from a record-low 0.5 percent, according to the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s Aug. 6-7 meeting. The remaining seven members, including Carney, opted for no change, saying early tightening could leave the economy “vulnerable to shocks” and jeopardize indebted households.