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mpc: 22 Compared with the outlook in November, and consistent with the news in the past month, near-term prospects for US growth now seemed to be more assured, Asian economies were strengthening and there were clearer signs that the euro area was beginning to recover. The world recovery was, in short, becoming more broadly based, though the outlook in UK-trade-weighted terms was only marginally stronger than in November. The prospects for UK aggregate demand had strengthened, primarily as a result of the strength of domestic demand, particularly the unexpected resilience of household consumption. That would increase prospective inflationary pressure. However, potential supply in the UK economy appeared to the Committee to be a little higher than previously thought and, because of data revisions, the estimated level of GDP at basic prices was a little lower, so that the amount of spare capacity in the economy at the beginning of the forecast period was a little larger than previously expected and inflationary pressure correspondingly lower. And the rise in sterling's effective rate since November would also tend to reduce inflationary pressure.