BoE
British households took out more mortgages and increased their borrowing in January.
Against the euro, the pound was broadly flat at 89.06 pence.
Hot weather and the World Cup boosted retail sales in July but the pound remained flat against the dollar around the $1.27 level.
The BoE’s nine rate-setters were unexpectedly unanimous in their vote to raise rates to 0.75 from 0.50 percent.
The BoE looks set to pass a post-financial crisis milestone by finally raising interest rates above emergency levels set more than nine years ago. [nL5N1US52B]
The Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 to keep rates at 0.5 percent, where they have been for most of the past decade.
The Bank of England expects Britain to lose up to 75,000 financial services jobs.
Britain’s economy grew at its slowest pace since 2013 in the 12 months after last year’s Brexit vote.
The Bank of England has settled a dispute over pay with staff that led to the central bank’s first strike in more than 50 years.
As parity between the euro and sterling inches closer.
Sterling slipped against the dollar and euro on Thursday and was on track to record its worst month since October, as uncertainty over Britain’s Brexit weighed.
Britain is "a little bit" better placed to cope with possible interest rate increases.
Sterling slipped back towards $1.30 on Wednesday.
