Bank holds base rate for 15th consecutive month

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today held interest rates at their historic low of 0.5%.

The MPC also left unchanged its £200bn quantitative easing programme. It comes ahead of the coalition Government's emergency Budget on 22 June as rate setters wait for details of plans to tackle the UK's deficit before making their next move. Economic adviser to Deloitte, Roger Bootle, says the Bank's decision to hold rates is prudent. "The MPC's nerves are being sorely tested by the rise in inflation," he says. "But I think it should stick to its belief that the effects of the large amount of slack in the economy will win out in the end and bring inflation down sharply. "I stil...