LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Investors in interest rate futures switched their bets on Friday to narrowly favour a half-point interest rate rise by the Bank of England next week, having earlier this month seen a more than 80% chance that it would raise rates by 75 basis points.
At 1335 GMT, rate futures showed a 51% chance of rates rising to 2.25%, and a 49% chance of an increase of a rise to 2.5% when the BoE announces its next Monetary Policy Committee decision on Sept. 22.
Earlier on Friday, official figures showed a much sharper than expected fall in retail sales for August, increasing the chances that future gross domestic product data will show Britain is already in a recession.
Economists polled by Reuters forecast on average a 50 basis point rate rise.
Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce
Source: Reuters