Philip Shaw, chief economist at the investment bank Investec, said the Bank of England's monetary policy decisions were getting more difficult to predict.

BBC: Bank of England rejects more stimulus

"It's abundantly clear the MPC feels the stance of policy is still out of kilter with economic prospects, " said Philip Shaw at Investec.

BBC: Bank considered bigger rate cut

Investec economist Philip Shaw said he still expected the deficit to overshoot the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts from the Autumn Statement last year.

BBC: UK public sector borrowing rises slightly in December

"The latest survey is bad news, " said Philip Shaw at Investec.

BBC: UK service sector growth slows again in November

"There is an awful lot of work to be done on the public finances and one must bear in mind that underlying borrowing is increasing this year, " said Philip Shaw at Investec.

BBC: UK public sector borrowing falls to ?12.8bn

"The change to the remit doesn't go quite as far as some in markets had speculated, and therefore the reaction from the currency and gilts has reflected this, " said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec.

BBC: Budget 2013: Bank of England gets new orders

"It's far too early to be drawing definitive conclusions this early in the financial year, but it's a good start: net borrowing is lower than in April last year, the current budget position is better, receipts growth is very buoyant and spending is subdued, " said Investec economist Philip Shaw.

BBC: NEWS | Business | UK finances mean boost for Brown