© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey addresses the Monetary Policy Report Press Conference at The Bank of England, in London, Britain November 4, 2021. Justin Tallis/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
By Tommy Wilkes and Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON (Reuters) – As the Bank of England’s policy decision was announced on Nov. 4, gasps were heard on some London trading floors.
Confident that Governor Andrew Bailey and Chief Economist Huw Pill had signalled interest rates would rise to fight inflation, many banks, hedge funds and other traders had bet on such an outcome, traders and investors said.
Instead, the British central bank kept borrowing costs unchanged – with Bailey and Pill voting against an increase.
Those who were caught out lost money, two senior traders in London said.
“A few four-letter words” were uttered, according to the head of UK rates trading at a major European bank, who requested anonymity because he did not want to comment publicly about the central bank.
The BoE declined to comment. A spokesperson said Bailey and Pill…
