Bank of England base rate set to say on hold until 2016

The minutes from the March Bank of England Policy Committee meeting show that there has been little change in short-term monetary conditions in the United Kingdom, and economic policy was expected to remain highly stimulatory for some years. The minutes say: "The first increase in Bank Rate was not fully priced into Overnight Interest Swap rates before 2016, broadly in line with the implied timing of the first policy rate increase in the euro area and a little after that in the United States. "Ahead of the MPC's policy decision, the Bank of Japan had announced on 4 April a set of highly stimulatory measures aimed at meeting its 2% inflation target at the earliest possible time. These included the intention to double the monetary base by the end of 2014 and increase purchases of Japanese government securities across the maturity spectrum." April 19, 2013