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mpc: 2 Over the past month, movements in interest rates had been small. Short-term sterling interest rates were barely changed on the month, while short-term dollar and euro rates were around 10 basis points lower. Forward rates now implied that an increase of 25 basis points in the Bank's repo rate this month was widely expected and largely priced into the yield curve. Forward interest rates also suggested that market participants now expected official euro-area and US rates to be increased a little later than had been anticipated at the time of the January MPC meeting. Long spot interest rates were little changed on the month in the United Kingdom and a little lower in the United States and the euro area, with the bulk of the falls accounted for by changes in expectations about near-term interest rate prospects. Changes on the month in the major equity price indices around the world had ranged from an increase of 1.3% for the DJ EuroStoxx to a fall of 2.8% for the Topix, with the FTSE All-Share index dropping by 0.9%. Uncertainty about future equity prices appeared to be below average in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.