Life on monetary policy committee is easy: turn up, listen, do nothing

The last interest rate move was in 2009 and nothing at the Bank of England suggests this will change soon - but expect something exciting to happen by late 2016

Being a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee is one of the world's easiest gigs. You turn up, listen to a rundown on what has happened to the global and UK economies over the past month, you cogitate, and then you do nothing. This pattern has now been uninterrupted since July 2012 when, at the height of the eurozone crisis, the Bank pumped 50bn into the economy through its quantitative easing programme. The last interest rate move was in March 2009, which means that none of the nine members of the MPC has actually changed the cost of borrowing.

The latest MPC minutes suggest that this period of inactivity is likely to continue. Inflation is now expected to remain lower for longer than the Bank previously thought, staying below 1% until the spring. In the meantime, the headline measure of the cost of living - the all items consumer prices index - is quite likely to go negative when the September inflation data is released next week.

Related: Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold