The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee was split 7-1 on its decision to leave interest rates at 4.5 per cent this month as Stephen Nickell voted for a quarter percentage point cut for the fifth month running.
Minutes of the April 5-6th meeting published this morning showed that overall the MPC thought there had been little news since the March meeting with economic growth continuing steadily and inflation staying close to its 2 per cent target.
As such, the minutes did little to settle the debate about whether the next move in interest rates will be up or down. Analysts had predicted the 7-1 vote and generally expect the MPC to keep rates steady for at least the next few months.
Only eight members attended April's meeting because Richard Lambert suddenly left the MPC last month and the Treasury is still to announce his successor.
Mr Nickell repeated his call for lower rates because he still saw considerable slack in the economy which, combined with the effect of higher energy prices on consumption, could push inflation below target.
But most MPC members still saw upside risks to prices stemming from higher energy costs, and noted that people's inflation expectations had picked up in recent surveys and would need to be monitored carefully.
Oil prices have kept rising since the MPC meeting a fortnight ago and hit a record high yesterday which may put further pressure on inflation in the months to come.