The Bank has had a tricky balancing act since last year, as its task is to support growth and jobs while also keeping a lid on inflation.

The Brexit vote raised the prospect that unemployment could rise, while the fall in the value of the pound has also pushed up inflation.

While it chose to support jobs in the wake of the Brexit vote last June, Mr Carney says that its focus is moving towards keeping a lid on inflation as the economy starts to run at its medium-term speed limit.

While this might mean more interest rate rises are on the way, he says that rates could go up and down depending on how the outlook evolves and will be limited and gradual: "Whatever happens, the committee will monitor developments closely to ensure inflation returns to the 2% target."

While the Bank has nudged up its growth forecasts, Mark Carney says inflation could rise above 3% again, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, in the coming months (it hit 3.1% late last year, but has since eased back to 3%) amid rising oil prices.

Growth and wages are expected remain robust in the coming years.

He says that while Brexit remains one of the most important factors influencing the economic outlook, he adds that policy is not just dependent on how negotiations go.

Image source, PA

Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, is delivering his opening remarks at the news conference. He says it is a notable week for anniversaries, with 100 years since millions of women winning the vote, and quarter of a century since the first Inflation Report by the Bank,

Global growth is booming, he says, with the expansion driven by investment. UK exports are also being boosted by the upturn. British exporters are in a sweet spot, he says, as the fall in the value of the pound has made the UK more competitive at a time when the economy has not felt the full impact of leaving the European Union.

Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, has commented on the Bank of England's inflation report:

Image source, Reuters

Andrew Sentance, former member of the MPC and now senior economic adviser at PwC, said: "It is no surprise to see interest rates being kept on hold this month. But it is still likely that we will see at least one quarter-point rise in 2018 and possibly two or three."

He said that Inflation will only fall back gradually as we move through this year, as the Bank of England recognises in its latest forecasts.

"Global inflationary pressures are building - with rising energy and food prices. And with the unemployment rate at its lowest level for over 40 years, we could see some gradual rise in wage inflation.

"Our economy will receive continued support from strong global growth in 2018. All the three main engines of the global economy - US, Europe and Asia - are performing well this year, and we are now in the best phase of global economic growth since the financial crisis.

"All this points to rising interest rates. So today's decision to hold rates is a temporary respite for borrowers. This year and next we are likely to see a gradual and sustained rise in the official Bank Rate, moving us closer to a more normal level of interest rates."

Image source, Getty Images

The pound surged 0.8% against the US dollar to $1.3990, having been flat ahead of the Bank's announcement.

Against the euro, sterling was up 1% at $1.1430, after trading around 0.3% higher earlier in the day.

All members of the Bank of England's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep interest rates on hold.

Meanwhile the Bank hiked its outlook for the UK economy, predicting growth of 1.8% in 2018, up from 1.6% previously.

But the Bank has hinted at faster rate rises...

The Bank of England has decided to keep interest rates on hold. The base rate remains at 0.5%.

Image source, Getty Images

Greece has issued a seven-year bond for the first time since the start of its financial crisis in April 2010, a finance ministry spokesman has said.

The issue was originally planned for earlier this week, but was held back because of the global stock market turbulence, according to sources quoted by the AFP news agency.

The sources said Greece was hoping to raise about €3bn (£2.6bn).

Rachel Reeves, chair of the BEIS Committee, has written to the Business Secretary Greg Clark about the GKN takeover...

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A further 101 Carillion workers have lost their jobs today. That brings the total number of redundancies at the collapsed firm to 930 to date.

The Official Receiver said it had safeguarded a further 1,221 jobs today to bring the total to 2,250.

A spokesperson said: "We continue to engage with staff, elected employee representatives and unions throughout.

"Those who have lost their jobs will be able to find support through Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service and are also entitled to make a claim for statutory redundancy payments."

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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has suspended trading and withdrawals, according to the FT.

It has reported that the Hong Kong-based exchange announced at roughly 2:20am GMT that “due to a significant increase in users and trading activity, Binance will need to extend the system upgrade.” It said that it expected the work to be completed by 2pm GMT.

Binance has denied that it was hacked.

Chief executive Zhao Changpeng said on Twitter that the exchange had experienced a “server issue on our replica database cluster, causing some data to be out of sync”. He added that “no data is lost”.

Image source, Goals Soccer Centres

Goals soccer centres has appointed a new boss. Andrew Anson will become chief executive from 23 April.

He has previously worked at Kitbag, Walt Disney, Channel 4, Manchester United and was chief executive for the failed England 2018 FIFA World Cup bid.

The company last month reported a dip in profits. Its final results for 2017 are due to be released on 13 March.

Is France now pulling its weight in the eurozone? The Banque de France, the country's central bank, is forecasting that GDP will grow by 0.4% in the first three months of 2018.

That follows growth of 1.9% last year, the fastest rate the French economy has achieved in six years. The government reckons growth will be at least 1.7% in 2018.

The news is a boost for President Emmanuel Macron, who has given priority to reviving the country's economic fortunes since he was elected in May last year.

At the same time, it's predicted that France's budget deficit for 2017 will turn out to be 2.9%. In other words, the country will come in under the 3% limit stipulated by Brussels for the first time in a decade.

The FTSE 100 is still looking a little sickly at the mid-morning stage, down about 45 points at 7,234. It's not a good day for mining stocks, with Randgold, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta all about 3% lower. Biggest loser, however, is easyJet, down nearly 3.4%.

The wider FTSE 250 index is also down more than 40 points at just under 19,650. Broadband provider TalkTalk fares worst there, still down nearly 10%, with Thomas Cook nearly 5% lower after reporting a first-quarter loss of £42m.

Image source, Getty Images

Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook, suggested this morning while announcing a trading update that Brits are still busy booking their summer breaks.

"From all that we see so far, customers' appetite for a summer holiday abroad shows no sign of slowing down," he said.

"We've taken early action to meet strong demand for destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean. This has enabled us to shift capacity out of the Spanish islands where we have seen a continuation of the margin pressures we experienced last summer, particularly for the UK market."

He added: "This remains a highly competitive - and, at times, unpredictable - market, as the disruption in the airlines sector in recent months demonstrates."