AN imminent move in interest rates disappeared off the radar yesterday after minutes showed eight of the nine Bank of England policymakers voted for no change earlier this month.

Stephen Nickell was the only member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to vote for cutting rates to 4.25 per cent from 4.5 per cent, where they have been pegged since August.

The news followed figures from the Office for National Statistics that showed inflation was on target at two per cent for the first time since June.

The reluctance of other members of the MPC to join Mr Nickell in calling for a cut, prompted economists to rule out a change in the cost of borrowing soon.

Dominic Walley, of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said the minutes from the MPC's March meeting "painted a picture of stability" and they had come as a boost to Chancellor Gordon Brown ahead of his tenth Budget.

The MPC minutes showed that Mr Nickell voted for a rate cut because GDP growth had fallen below trend over the past 18 months, as well as rising unemployment and spare capacity in the economy.

But other members argued that growth had recovered from the trough of early last year and "was now close to its historical average".