BoE holds rates at 0.5% amid uncertainty

The Bank of England (BoE) today kept interest rates at a record low of 0.5% as uncertainty remains over who will govern Britain.

The decision, delayed from last week because of the General Election, comes amid a backdrop of economic turmoil in Europe and a hung parliament in the UK. The MPC will also leave its £200bn programme of quantitative easing unchanged. BoE governor Mervyn King had previously intimated rates will remain low for much of this year, as the economic outlook and recovery remain fragile. The economy grew more sluggishly than expected in the first quarter, with GDP expanding by 0.2% compared to the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics said last month. Economists had fore...