Bank of England holds interest rates at record lows

Predicts two lost years of UK growth

clock • 2 min read

The Bank of England (BoE) met expectations and kept Bank Rate at 0.1%, a “sensible” decision that allows it to “leave some powder dry for now”.

Members of the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep interest rates at the record low level and to continue its asset purchase programme at the same level, £745bn. It predicted UK GDP would not return to its 2019 level until the end of 2021, while unemployment will reach 7.5% by the end of 2020. In its policy statement, the MPC said recent data developments, including strengthening global economic activity, recovering spending indicators and a return to normal of the housing market, may not be informative about how the economy will perform over a longer timef...

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