BOE hikes policy rate by 50 bps to 3.5% as expected

Following its December policy meeting, the Bank of England (BoE) announced that it raised the policy rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 3.5% as expected.

The vote was 6-3 in favor of the rate decision. Two members, Tenreyro and Dhingra, voted to keep rates at 3% while Mann voted to raise it to 3.75%.

The GBP/USD pair remains heavily offered through the mid-European session and refreshes the daily low after the Bank of England announced its policy decision on Thursday. Spot prices, however, show some resilience below the 1.2300 mark and quickly recover around 30 pips in the last hour.