Bank of England holds interest rates steady amid Brexit chaos

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Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain June 28, 2016.

The Bank of England (BOE) held interest rates steady on Thursday, amid intensifying uncertainty over Britain’s departure date from the European Union.

With just eight days to go before the country is set to leave the bloc, the BOE’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by Mark Carney, unanimously voted to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75 percent.

The BOE had expected this to be their final meeting before Brexit, but Prime Minister Theresa May has asked the EU for an extension to the deadline. It means policymakers at the central bank have been left in limbo when it comes to implementing their plan for limited and gradual rate hikes over the coming months.

“The economic outlook will continue to depend significantly on the nature and timing of the EU withdrawal,” the BOE said.

The central bank also repeated that rates could move in either direction if there is a no-deal Brexit, with many fearful that the so-called “cliff-edge” scenario could hammer economic growth and jobs in the world’s fifth-largest economy.

A disorderly exit from the EU on March 29 remains possible as May waits to formally hear from Brussels on her request to push back the U.K.’s departure from the bloc.

At around 12:15 p.m. London time, sterling traded down 0.5 percent at $1.3129.