BoE expected to keep Bank Rate at 4.75 on Dec. 19
Policymakers have signalled they will cut only gradually
Other central banks seen cutting rates in coming days
BoE is worried about jobs market, budget impact

LONDON, Dec 11 Reuters The Bank of England looks set to keep interest rates on hold next week as it moves more slowly to cut borrowing costs than central banks in Europe and the United States.

The BoE remains on alert about price pressures in Britain39;s jobs market that have subsided more clearly elsewhere.

The new government39;s tax and spending plans have only added to the uncertain outlook for inflation.

Investors see only a onein10 chance of the BoE cutting its Bank Rate from its current level of 4.75 on Dec. 19.

By contrast, the European Central Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the central banks of Canada, Switzerland and Sweden are all expected to lower borrowing costs in the coming days.

The BoE has cut Bank Rate only twice from a 16year peak, helping to make sterling the only currency from the Group of 10 leading economies that has not fallen against the U.S. dollar in 2024.

Investors expect the stopstart pattern to continue. Governor Andrew Bailey last week welcomed the recent slowdown in price growth but said there was still a distance to travel with inflation likely to hover a bit above the BoE39;s 2 target until 2027.

The British central bank last month raised its inflation forecasts after finance minister Rachel Reeves announced a big…