UK gilts slip after BoE maintains benchmark interest rate at 0.25 pct

The UK gilts slipped Thursday after the Bank of England (BoE0 maintained its benchmark Bank Rate at 0.25 percent, hinting that it may need to raise interest rates before late 2019 as markets had been expecting, after witnessing a rise in the country’s rate of inflation and a steady economic over the next few years.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, rose 1/2 basis point to 1.17 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields climbed nearly 1 basis point to 1.80 percent while the yield on the short-term 2-year traded flat at 0.13 percent by 11:10 GMT.

The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-1 in favour of keeping interest rates on hold at their record low 0.25 percent this month, as was expected in a Reuters poll of economists. The central bank said inflation was likely to fall back to 2.16 percent in just over two years' time, however, still remaining above the BoE's target and then pick up slightly going into 2020.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 rose 0.11 percent or 7.81 points to 7,393.05 by 11:20 GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained neutral at 17.07 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex