Bank of England brings forward Thursday rate announcement to 0700 GMT

FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a protective face mask walks past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, August 6, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England said on Wednesday it would announce its November monetary policy decision at 0700 GMT on Thursday, earlier than the 1200 GMT it had previously scheduled, to avoid clashing with a statement from finance minister Rishi Sunak.

“Due to the Chancellor’s statement, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, the Bank has brought forward the publication time of its Monetary Policy Report,” the BoE said.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE to expand its asset purchase programme by 100 billion pounds to 845 billion pounds due to the deteriorating economic outlook as England enters a second COVID lockdown.

Sunak is due to give an update on economic support measures related to the lockdown.

Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Estelle Shirbon and Paul Sandle

source: reuters.com