The rise in the euro will be unwelcome for Irish exporters who have seen a huge rise in price competitiveness selling their goods and services into Britain because of weakness of the single currency over many months.

In the wider context, the BoE thinks the economy’s growth over 2015 as a whole will be nearer 2.8 per cent than its earlier 2.5 per cent forecast but the Bank has revised down its employment growth estimates for this year. On Tuesday, a YouGov survey found the British public’s year-ahead inflation expectations at a 12-month high of 1.6 per cent in July.

It was the first dissent since a series of 7-2 split votes at the end of 2014.

In its report, it said the outlook for inflation was “muted”.

But Governor Mark Carney has signaled the bank is “moving closer” to a rate increase as economic growth remains among the fastest among advanced economies.

Eight of the nine-strong MPC voted to keep interest rates unchanged in August, at 0.5%, causing the pound to fall after the release of the MPC minutes.

An increase will add to repayment costs for borrowers such as mortgage holders but offer a glimmer of hope to savers whose nest-eggs have been steadily eroded by more than six years of low rates.

“The falls in energy prices of the past few months will continue to bear down on inflation at least until the middle of next year”, the minutes said.

The Bank of England base interest rate affects is set by its Monetary Policy Committee and affects interest rates offered by banks, building societies and other financial institutions.

Markets are now not expecting the committee to back any rise in bank rate until February. Savers need to beware too; banks are dropping rates in preparation for having to pay more so keeping a close eye on returns is a must.

BoE policymakers have already disagreed on how much the strength in sterling is likely to offset the impact on inflation of rising wages, according to minutes of their meeting in early July, and some are expected to vote for a rate hike this week.

However, Williamson said a rate hike later this year remained a “distinct possibility”, as members would want to see stronger data than the latest PMI readings before feeling comfortable about voting for higher borrowing costs.