July 30 (Reuters) - UK bond yields and the pound fell
slightly on Thursday after the Bank of England held interest
rates at 3.75% as expected and said domestic conditions were
likely reducing inflationary pressures.
Britain's two-year government bond yield, which is sensitive
to BoE rate expectations, slightly extended its earlier fall to
trade 7 basis points lower at around 4.38%.
Sterling was last up 0.1% at $1.339, down very
slightly from before the decision.
Six of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold
rates, with three officials voting for a hike, one more than
economists polled by Reuters had expected.
In updated forecasts, the BoE's central projection showed
inflation rising to 3.2% later this year from a 15-month low of
2.6% in June.
That is a softer inflation outlook than in the Bank's last
full forecasts in April, but similar to what it predicted in
June.
"For now, the Bank is not seeing enough to abandon its
wait-and-see approach," said Schroders senior economist George
Brown.
"Despite the sharp rise in energy prices, the majority
appear unconvinced this will translate into more persistent
domestic inflation."
London's FTSE 100 stock index, which hit a record
high earlier on Thursday, was last up 0.2%.