The Bank of England is gearing up for its first policy meeting of the year on Thursday, but the central bank is in the same Brexit-induced wait-and-see mode as investors, market participants said.

If it weren’t for Brexit, the bank would likely be en route to another rate hike or may have already delivered one, analysts said. After all, the UK economy for much of 2018 showed signs of strength, leading some sterling bulls to the narrative that it was Brexit worries weighing on the pound given a relatively strong underlying economy and expectations for eventual rate rises.