Bank Of England Stands Pat, Maintains 0.25% Bank Rate - iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (ARCA:EWU), SPDR S&P 500 (ARCA:SPY)

The U.S. Federal Reserve

by 25 basis points on Wednesday — a move that was widely expected. Across the pond, the

Bank of England held its key bank rate unchanged at 0.25 percent.

The Bank of England also voted to maintain its two asset-purchase programs.

The Bank of England gathered for its final policy meeting of 2016 and commented that the pound's recent appreciation from its lows may imply a slower pickup in inflation throughout 2017.

The central bank's monetary policy committee also commented that they expect the British economy to cool down in 2017 due to a weakening in consumer spending while the Brexit vote may negatively impact prior investment plans.

"A slowdown in growth remained likely, but there had been little news since the time of the November inflation report about domestic activity and, although the near-term global outlook had improved, this was counterbalanced by more elevated risks," the Guardian quoted minutes from the central bank as noting.

British Pound Falls

Following the release of the Bank of England's minutes, the pound fell against the U.S. dollar and was seen trading at $1.2467, down around 0.77 percent.

The British pound hit a post-Brexit low of $1.1841 and traded as high as $1.5018 prior to the Brexit vote.

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