Two members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee surprisingly voted for a quarter point rate cut at the last rate-setting meeting on June 9, with the other seven voting in favour of keeping the key repo rate unchanged at 4.75 pct. The minutes to the meeting, published this morning, showed that the central bank's chief economist Charlie Bean and outgoing MPC member Marian Bell said a quarter point rate reduction "might obviate" the need for a larger cut later. "While there were arguments in favour of waiting for more information before taking action, that risked the slowdown in consumption becoming more entrenched," they said, according to the minutes. News that there were two members actually voting for a rate cut may well cement expectations that the BoE will cut interest rates by August. Most Bank watchers had predicted that a unanimous vote in favour of holding rates, with possibly deputy governor Andrew Large voting for a quarter point hike again. The minutes showed that Bean and Bell argued that the evidence over the last month was enough to warrant a cut, and pointed to the further weakness in the euro zone, the downside risks to the outlook for growth following disappointing economic news and diminishing demand pressures in the economy.