UK interest rates held at 0.5% by Bank of England

BANK OF ENGLAND

UK interest rates have been held at their record low of 0.5% for another month by the Bank of England.

The Bank also kept the size of its quantitative easing (QE) programme unchanged at £375bn.

No changes had been expected to either rates or QE, despite recent evidence that the UK economy is continuing to recover.

Most economists do not expect the Bank to increase interest rates until the first half of next year.

The recent fall in the rate of inflation has also reduced any pressure on the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) to raise rates. The UK's inflation rate fell to 1.7% last month, which was a four-year low and below the Bank's target of 2%.

Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund said the UK economy would be the fastest-growing in the G7 this year.

It predicted the UK economy would grow by 2.9% in 2014, up from its previous estimate of 2.4%, and will see growth of 2.5% next year.