LONDON (Reuters) — Bank of England policymakers remained divided over the economic outlook yesterday, just one week before their next interest rate decision.The Monetary Policy Committee was split 5-4 last month, with the majority favouring no change in interest rates while Governor Mervyn King and three others voted for a quarter percentage point increase.

Most economists now predict an interest rate rise to 5.75 percent next week but a policymakers' comments to a parliamentary committee yesterday suggested the differences have not gone away.

BoE Deputy Governor Rachel Lomax, who had favoured keeping rates at 5.5 percent this month, stressed her worry about hiking too fast and wanted to wait for more data.

"I didn't think there was a need to have a pre-emptive strike in June," she said. "I am conscious of the risk of overdoing it because we've had 100 basis points of tightening in less than a year."