However, what do commentators from across the financial services sphere think of the report? We compiled some of their reactions below.

David Curtin, fixed income portfolio manager at BlackRock, said:

“The report has bolstered our positive view on the UK economy. In the Euro area, we expect that over the course of the year, peripheral assets will perform well.  We do not expect the UK to join the recent trend for central banks globally to lower interest rates.  We expect further gains in the labour market in coming months, and a strong consumer to drive the economy forward.”

Vince Smith Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said:

“The Bank of England’s forecasts that consumer prices are likely to fall in the short term will be welcome news for many households; particularly pensioners, who spend more of their income on food and energy, which are the main downward pressures on inflation. This means they could see even lower rates of inflation than forecasted by the Bank of England today.”

Nick Dixon, investment director at Aegon UK, said:

“The Bank of England may not be showing much concern over stalling inflation, but there seems to be grounds enough for the dovish members of the central bank to be looking at an interest rate cut. We could see a 0.25% interest rate, and even a reinjection of quantitative easing, before the year is through.”

Helal Miah, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said:

“This inflation report does not signal any major changes from what we already knew. There is a risk that low inflation could last longer than predicted. In this scenario, the Bank of England will look to provide support to prices if low inflation became self-supporting. As a result, there may be the possibility of it boosting QE further or cutting the benchmark interest rate.”