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04/08/2011
Interest Rates Held At Historic Low
The interest rate has again been kept at the record low of 0.5% by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
This comes as no surprise as most economists had anticipated that the rates would remain unchanged due to the subdued economy after new that GDP figures for the second quarter showed growth of just 0.2%.
The Bank also kept its programme of quantitative easing (QE) at £200bn.
"Unchanged interest rates were always a nailed-on certainty," Howard Archer, Chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight told the BBC today.
However, inflation in Britain has jumped to 4.5%, more than double the Bank's 2% target, but most of the Bank's policy-makers believe this will be temporary and are reluctant to put up rates at a time when the economy is flatlining and the government's austerity measures are just starting to kick in.
That prompted two MPC members to vote for higher interest rates, one for more stimulus through QE, and the rest for no change, but it is not known who as the Minutes of this month's meeting won't be published for a fortnight.
(BMcC/GK)
This comes as no surprise as most economists had anticipated that the rates would remain unchanged due to the subdued economy after new that GDP figures for the second quarter showed growth of just 0.2%.
The Bank also kept its programme of quantitative easing (QE) at £200bn.
"Unchanged interest rates were always a nailed-on certainty," Howard Archer, Chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight told the BBC today.
However, inflation in Britain has jumped to 4.5%, more than double the Bank's 2% target, but most of the Bank's policy-makers believe this will be temporary and are reluctant to put up rates at a time when the economy is flatlining and the government's austerity measures are just starting to kick in.
That prompted two MPC members to vote for higher interest rates, one for more stimulus through QE, and the rest for no change, but it is not known who as the Minutes of this month's meeting won't be published for a fortnight.
(BMcC/GK)
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UK interest rates have been left on hold at 5.25% this month by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The MPC raised the interest rate by 0.25% in January. This followed three other quarter rate rises since last August. Inflation recently rose to 3%, well above the government's target of 2%.
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Interest rates remain unchanged
The Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged at 4.5% for the third month in a row. The decision, made by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), had been expected, due to the recent rise in inflation. Inflation is forecast to remain above the 2% target for a while, mainly due to rising oil prices.
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UK Interest Rates Remain On Hold At 0.5%
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% for the 18th month in a row. The decision had been expected, although there have been calls for a rise in order to curb inflation. The MPC also continued with the Bank's £200 billion quantitative easing programme. The UK economy grew by 1.
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Interest Rates Remain At 5%
Interest rates are to remain the same in the UK at 5% following a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The Bank of England committee sets an interest rate it judges will enable the inflation target to be met. The decision not to change the interest rate has been expected.
Interest Rates Remain At 5%
Interest rates are to remain the same in the UK at 5% following a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The Bank of England committee sets an interest rate it judges will enable the inflation target to be met. The decision not to change the interest rate has been expected.
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