The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold even as Andrew Bailey signalled borrowing costs would continue to fall this year.

Policymakers voted 8-1 to keep rates unchanged at 5pc as the Governor welcomed a further easing in price pressures since policymakers reduced rates in August.

However, officials said they remained cautious about cutting rates too quickly amid a “tight” jobs market.

The minutes of its the September meeting of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) warned that pay deals were still inconsistent with bringing inflation back to the Bank’s 2pc target.

Prices, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), rose by 2.2pc in August but are expected to pick up in the second half of the year against the backdrop of a 10pc rise in the energy price cap from October.

The Bank said this would be somewhat offset by a drop in petrol and diesel prices.