POLL-Bank to cut rates again in February

By Nigel Davies

LONDON (Reuters) - Interest rates will likely fall by another 50 basis points in February, according to a Reuters poll of economists after the Bank of England cut rates to their lowest ever level, with another half point cut still to come.

The BoE delivered a widely expected 50 basis point reduction on Thursday, taking rates down to 1.50 percent, the lowest in its 315-year history as it attempts to dull the pain from a hard-hitting recession.

But a rate-cutting cycle that has seen rates slashed by 350 basis points since October is not over yet, said economists.

Forty-eight of 58 economists in a poll taken after the rate decision expected the Monetary Policy Committee to cut rates again next month.

The majority of those, or 44, said they would cut another 50 basis points, while one said they would cut by 75 basis points, and three by a full percentage point.

"It's inevitable the BoE revises down its GDP and inflation projections, so there are certainly further cuts to come," said Alan Clarke, UK economist at BNP Paribas.

The BoE will release its updated forecasts on the economy when it publishes its quarterly Inflation Report next month. But a February cut will not be the last the BoE makes this year, with medians showing rates bottoming at 0.5 percent in the second quarter, in line with a pre-BoE meeting poll.

ZERO SUM GAME?