Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% in 6-3 Vote, Drops Long-Gilt Sales

A 6-3 split with three members preferring a hike is a hawkish hold, and the vote composition matters more than the unchanged rate. The bigger signal for RWA and crypto markets is the gilt decision: abandoning long-dated sales and stretching balance-sheet reduction to 2034 keeps duration supply off the market, easing the very long-end pressure that has been a persistent macro headwind for risk assets. The open question is whether that inflation forecast, now above target into end-2026, forces the committee back toward tightening.