UK central bank chief: more stimulus possible

In many respects, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee did a similar thing on Thursday, sacrificing appropriateness today (at least from an inflation risk point of view) for the hope of a better fitting growth profile over the longer term.

Reality Check verdict: The Bank of England thinks the United Kingdom will probably avoid a recession, although one is not all that unlikely, and its forecasts are based on the assumption the results of recent surveys are an overreaction that will correct in the coming months. Oil prices extended gains.

The Bank has also announced measures to bolster Britain’s economy to address concerns that the country’s decision to leave the European Union could weigh on growth in the coming months.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 2.95 points to 18,352.05. The Nasdaq composite gained 3 points to 5,163.

There will also be a new £100 billion funding program for banks created to prevent their profit margins being squeezed still further by record low interest rates. Household goods makers and technology companies are rising the most.

The central bank cut its key rate to 0.25 per cent from a previous record low of 0.5 per cent.

Borrowers should see immediate benefits, and Mr Carney said banks had “no excuse not to pass on this cut”, thanks to the Bank’s package of measures.

When the BoE published its last quarterly inflation report in May, he warned that a vote to leave the European Union could lead to a recession.

It said the measures announced today could be expanded later if needed.

I will be surprised if the BoE sits on its hands today and does nothing, at least a 25 basis points rate cut for now, and any action beyond that will likely take Sterling below 1.30 against the US dollar.

“Some key Northern Ireland sectors such as aerospace and pharma could also become more competitive if the pound remains weak compared to the USA dollar”, Dr Birnie added. “At the same time, they said that a majority of MPC members expect further cuts this year to what they said was the “lower bound” of rates”, that is, “close to, but a little above, zero”. While the pace of hiring and economic growth slowed in the first half of the year, consumers may boost spending in the months to come.

Soft second-quarter U.S. GDP data and some other mixed data have dented the dollar as they reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates this year.

The dollar index was steady at 95.752 after gaining 0.3 percent on Thursday. The company also cited terrorism as among the events that are making it harder to predict how its business will perform in the near future.

NOT A BIG SPLASH: Theme park operator SeaWorld said its revenue fell in the second quarter as guest numbers from Latin America dropped off amid economic turmoil there and bad weather. Its stock gave up $1.96, or 13.2 percent, to $12.88. Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, added $1.04, or 2.4 percent, to $44.14 a barrel in London. Brent crude, which is used to price global oils, added 45 cents, or 1 percent, to $43.55. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 both rose 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.6 percent. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.4 percent.

Sterling fell 1 percent against the United States dollar following the bank’s announcement, while British government bond yields hit record lows and the main share index rose by 1 percent.