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Forex traders got behind sterling after the report revealed a third member - Spencer Dale - joined Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale in voting for the interest rate to rise from its current record low of 0.5 per cent, Reuters reports.
The pound surged by half a US cent to a three-week high of $1.6275, but it later moved back down to $1.6213, remaining 0.5 per cent up on the day.
Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, stated a third vote does not necessarily mean the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee has moved any closer to upping the base rate.
But he added: "Certainly the sentiment expressed in the main headlines from the minutes is more hawkish than expected."
Posted by Greg Secker
