Central bank · GBPUsual scheduleLive week from the calendar

BoE rate decision: release time and what it moves

Bank of England. Usually a Thursday, usually at 7:00 AM New York time. What it is, what traders watch and how the WhitePips rules treat trading around it.

  • Eight scheduled announcements a yearhow often
  • 7:00 AMNew York time
  • Redusual calendar rating

BoE on this week's calendar

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Times in your own time zone and in New York; releases already out are dimmed. Red is high impact, Amber medium; the ratings are the calendar feed's.

Central bankGBP

What BoE is

BoE rate decision

The nine members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee vote on Bank Rate, the UK's main interest rate. The decision, the split of the votes and the Monetary Policy Summary are published together at noon.

Four times a year (usually February, May, August and November) the Bank also publishes its Monetary Policy Report with new forecasts, followed by the Governor's press conference.

When it comes out

Published by
Bank of England, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
How often
Eight scheduled announcements a year
Usual day
Usually a Thursday
Usual time
7:00 AM New York; 12:00 noon UK time: 11:00 UTC in British Summer Time, 12:00 UTC in winter
On the calendar as
Official Bank Rate, MPC Official Bank Rate Votes, Monetary Policy Summary
Usual rating
Red

What traders watch

The vote split

How many members voted for a change often moves the pound more than the decision.

The guidance

The Summary's wording about the next steps.

The forecasts

On report months, the inflation path the Bank expects.

On MetaTrader 5Pip value, lots and commission

Symbols BoE moves

The WhitePips symbols that usually react most to BoE. Each page has the pip or point value, a lot-size example and the commission on every plan.

GBPUSDBritish pound / US dollarEURGBPEuro / British poundGBPJPYBritish pound / Japanese yenGBPCHFBritish pound / Swiss francUK100UK 100

Futures on Volumetrica: 6BBritish pound

Trading Rules, section 11In the rules' own words

Trading BoE at WhitePips

CFD plans Every plan, every stage

News trading is permitted on every CFD plan. You may open, hold and close positions before, during and after economic releases on every CFD plan, in the evaluation and once funded. There is no restricted window around a release on a CFD account, and no profit is removed because a trade was placed around news.

News straddling is not permitted. On every CFD plan, you may not open straddled, offsetting or hedged exposure on the same or correlated instruments within 15 minutes before or after a scheduled Red or Amber (high or medium impact) economic event, a company earnings release, or a major geopolitical announcement, where the purpose is to capture the volatility of the event rather than to take a view on its outcome. Placing a buy and a sell (or a buy stop and a sell stop) on the same instrument, or opposite positions on correlated instruments such as EURUSD and USDCHF, so that whichever way the price jumps one side profits, is straddling. A single position, or positions in one direction, taken on your own view of the release is not.

Trading Rules, sections 11.1 and 11.2. Each straddle is detected and referred to the risk desk, never penalised automatically.

Futures plans One Step funded, Instant

Futures plans. On the futures plans news trading is permitted during the One Step evaluation. On a funded futures account (One Step funded and Instant) no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release; a position opened before the window may be held through it. Profit from such a trade is removed and the loss stays. The first and second violations are warnings, and the third is referred for compliance review. A news trading violation never ends an account automatically. The releases are those marked as high impact in the economic calendar shown in the dashboard or notified to you.

Trading Rules, section 11.4.

CFD plans: no straddling6:45 AM to 7:15 AM New YorkFunded futures: no trade opened or closed6:58 AM to 7:02 AMBoE 7:00 AM
−20 min−15−2+2+15+20 min
A single position taken on your own view, before or after the release, is fine on every CFD plan. On a funded futures account a position opened before the two-minute window may be held through it.

Section 11 of the Trading Rules News trading, explained

QuestionsShort answers

BoE: questions

What time is BoE released?

Usually at 7:00 AM New York time: 12:00 noon UK time: 11:00 UTC in British Summer Time, 12:00 UTC in winter. Usually a Thursday.

How often is BoE released?

Eight scheduled announcements a year. Usually a Thursday. The exact dates are set by the Bank of England; the dashboard's economic calendar shows the coming week.

Can I trade BoE on a WhitePips account?

On every CFD plan, yes: news trading is allowed in the evaluation and once funded. What is not allowed is straddling, opening both directions (or offsetting positions on correlated instruments) within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike; the risk desk reviews it. On a funded futures account, no trade may be opened or closed from two minutes before to two minutes after a high-impact release.

Which markets move most on BoE?

On the WhitePips platforms: GBPUSD, EURGBP, GBPJPY, GBPCHF, UK100, and on futures 6B.

Why does the vote split matter so much?

The MPC decides by majority and publishes each member's vote. A decision that was closer than expected signals that the next move may come sooner.

CFDs and futuresNo time limit

Put the numbers to work

Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. News trading is allowed on every CFD plan.

See the plansTrading calculator