The Bank of England voted overwhelmingly to keep interest rates on hold earlier this month.
Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee's meeting show that all nine members voted to keep rates steady at 4 per cent.
The committee found stronger-than-expected retail sales, household borrowing and house prices meant imbalances in the economy had widened.
But they found inflationary pressures were weak.
There were also "positive indictors" from the US suggesting the effects on demand following the September 11th terror attacks had been temporary.
The committee said it was possible the international financial markets had "over-reacted" to early signs of a recovery.
However, the committee also signalled it was flexible concerning its next move - hinting that rates could either be trimmed or raised.
It said there would be a case for another reduction if it was likely that consumption slowed before the world economy revived, a possible reaction to rising unemployment and mounting debts.
But it also said it was possible consumption would not slow soon, or sharply enough, in which case a rise in rates would be required "to keep inflation on track".