The U.K.'s central bank is set to keep interest rates on hold later Thursday as inflation has moved further above its target rate, even though the British economy is flatlining at best. The Bank of England's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to keep the bank's main interest rate unchanged at 4.

Economists widely expected a rate hold at the December meeting, as policymakers remain concerned with stubborn services inflation and wage growth.

Bank of England policymakers voted 6-3 to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday, a bigger split than economists had predicted as officials disagreed over how to respond to a slowing economy that remains beset by inflation pressures.