The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee kept its key lending rate unchanged at 5.25%, despite yesterday’s announcement that UK inflation would return to its 2% target in May after nearly three years.

It is the seventh time the central bank has kept interest rates at 5.25%, a 16-year high.

The Bank’s reluctance to cut interest rates is attributed to the still high headline rate of services inflation, which eased only slightly in May to 5.7% from 5.9% the previous month.

Seven members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted in favor of maintaining interest rates, while two members favored a reduction, as at the Bank’s previous meeting in May.

In its announcement, the Monetary Policy Committee refers to inflation, noting that it has reached the goal of the Central Bank of the country, adding that the index of short-term inflation expectations as well as the increase in wages have declined.

It was very “difficult to assess the development of the labor market” due to the uncertainty surrounding the forecasts of the Statistical Service, the Monetary Policy Committee added in its statement.