LONDON — The Bank of England kept its key lending rate at a record low level of 0.50 per cent for the eighteenth month running yesterday, as data shows Britain’s strong recovery from recession is stalling.
The central bank also kept easy money flowing to the economy.
“The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5 per cent,” the Bank of England said in a brief statement following its latest monthly meeting.
The central bank also decided against altering its quantitative easing (QE) policy, under which it has pumped £200 billion ($308 billion) of new money into the economy to fight the recent recession.
The BoE’s reasoning behind its decisions will be made available when minutes of the gathering are published on September 22.
“The MPC may very well be becoming increasingly worried about the risk of a double-dip (recession), particularly given the recent markedly weaker surveys relating to services, manufacturing and construction activity in August,” IHS Global Insight analyst Howard Archer said following the latest policy announcements. — AFP