LONDON (MktNews) - The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to cut the official repo rate by 25bps to 5.75% when it concludes its two-day meeting on Thursday. A survey of twenty-one analysts polled by Market News International showed only two economists not forecasting a rate cut this week. These two think rates will stay unchanged at 6%. The MPC last changed rates in February a year ago when it raised the repo by 25bps from 5.75%. Analysts became more convinced that the BOE will cut rates this week after the minutes of the January MPC meeting showed the committee held the repo steady then by a margin of only 5-4 and the release of fourth-quarter GDP data showing the economy growing by only 0.3%. Economists argued that the MPC will cut rates because of a fear of a world economic slowdown triggered by a weakening US economy with possible knock-on effects on confidence in the UK. Moreover, as RPIX inflation is so benign and set to remain so over the course of this year, trimming rates now poses few risks to inflation. The above arguments were decisive at the January meeting to get Charles Bean and Christopher Allsopp to join Sushil Wadhwani and DeAnne Julius in calling for an immediate 25bps rate cut. The remaining five MPC members, including BOE governor Eddie George, however, argued that it would be better to wait for the analysis of the February inflation report; that an immediate rate cut could hurt confidence if markets associated it with the US, and that there should be clearer signs of a slowdown in the labour market and consumption growth. Analysts said the data released since then has been mixed and it is by no means clear that consumption has slowed fast enough to placate the hawks on the MPC. There are also signs of renewed strength in the manufacturing sector, they argued. "We are not convinced that a rate cut is necessary on economic grounds" now that sterling has fallen and surveys are showing signs of increased manufacturing optimism, said David Smith, UK economist at Williams de Broe. But he said the narrow vote at the January MPC meeting points to monetary easing this week. Many other analysts were of the same opinion, after a week of strong domestic data. But, as Ciaran Barr, senior UK economist at Deutsche Bank, argued "Any concerns the MPC may have about the continued underlying strength of the real economy (further highlighted in last week's data) should be vastly outweighed by the benign inflation outlook and the inevitable future impact on growth from the slowdown in world activity." Analysts also think that the February inflation report (due on 14 February) will likely show that the risks to the November inflation forecast are on the downside because of the worsening global outlook. Indeed, in its November report the Bank overestimated RPIX inflation in Q4 2000 by some 0.25pp, Deutsche's Barr said. Of the two economists who say the Bank is more likely to leave the repo rate on hold this week, Richard Jeffrey, chief economist at Charterhouse said "Undoubtedly, the MPC is heavily influenced by events in the US but recent numbers in the UK have not warranted a cut." But even those two were not completely convinced that the Bank will hold policy this week. Looking further out, the MNI survey predicts another 25bps rate cut sometime in the second quarter and then rates on hold through to year-end. But the recent slew of strong domestic data has muddied the picture. While Danny Gabay, UK economist at JP Morgan, thinks the MPC will likely trim the repo by 25pbs this week, beyond that "the MPC will likely require more compelling evidence that any further easing would not stoke already high levels of demand." Some analysts think that rate cuts made in the first half of this year could be reversed in the latter half once the global and US outlook improves again. The MPC will announce its rate decision at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday at 12:00 GMT.