The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee was so unanimous in its view not to change interest rates at its meeting earlier this month, that they did not even discuss the matter, according to the meeting minutes published this morning.

The MPC meeting on November 9-10, which had access to the economic forecasts within the central bank’s quarterly Inflation Report at the time of the meeting, said the risks around the central projections were evenly balanced, but that the uncertainty around the near-term profile for inflation was more than usual.

"Against that backdrop, the Committee agreed to maintain the repo rate at 4.50 per cent," the MPC said.

But the unanimity does not mean the MPC is being decisive, according to analyst Howard Archer, of Global Insight. "The 9-0 vote and general tone of the minutes confirm that the Monetary Policy Committee is firmly in 'wait and see mode' at the moment," Mr Archer said.

David Walton, the newest member of the MPC, reinforced that view with an interview with the BBC this morning, in which he expressed the opinion that with inflation still running ahead of the Government's 2.0 per cent target, interest rates are set to remain unchanged for some time. Unstable fuel prices are clearly a factor which is influencing the MPC's decision-making, and the next major round of pay settlements, due in January, will probably offer more useful data.

"Inflation has been above target and so we are very focused on ensuring it does come back to the target," Mr Walton said.

"We are very keen to make sure there are no second-round effects from higher oil prices. What that means is that we will be watching wage settlements over the winter months to ensure that there is no pick up in wage inflation.

"If that is the case then, if wage inflation does pick up then clearly that would be something of great concern to the MPC."

The minutes, and Mr Walton's comments, helped the pound to firm up slightly against the dollar and the euro, with £1 trading at $1.7224, up from $1.7205, while the euro slipped from 68.58p to 68.49p.