Last month the MPC voted unanimously to keep the rate at 0.75%. This month two members voted for a 0.25% rate cut.

At its meeting this week the MPC voted unanimously to maintain the stock of sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £10 billion.

Committee members also voted unanimously to maintain the stock of UK government bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £435 billion.

The MPC's projections for activity and inflation are now based on the "assumption of an orderly transition to a deep free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union."

UK GDP growth has slowed materially this year, said the MPC, and a small margin of excess supply has opened up. That slowdown reflects weaker global growth, driven by trade protectionism, and the domestic impact of "Brexit-related uncertainties."

The likelihood of a no-deal Brexit has fallen markedly and the sterling exchange rate has appreciated, said the MPC. These changes remove some of the uncertainty facing businesses and households, and the MPC now projects that UK GDP growth will pick up during 2020. Inflationary pressures are projected to lessen in the near term.

Tom Carroll, head of asset management at Sanlam Investments, said: “The MPC would like to follow the previous guidance of gradual rate hikes but with economic growth subdued and limited inflation risks in the short term, this hardly seems justified.

"And, of course, the cloud that is Brexit continues to create uncertainty which has been exacerbated by the political uncertainty of a general election. There is therefore almost no chance that the MPC is going to raise rates. That said, it is Mark Carney’s swansong and he may use the freedom that brings to be more forthright in his views on Brexit, economic policy and the outlook for the UK.”