Bank keeps rates at 0.5% and holds fire on stimulus

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5% and resisted another round of quantitative easing amid tentative signs of an improvement in the economic outlook.

Members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep rates at their historical low - where they have remained since March 2009 - and maintained the Bank's quantitative easing (QE) programme at £325bn. The decision to hold fire on additional stimulus measures comes as various economic indicators suggest the recovery is gaining momentum. Surveys pointing to a pick-up in the services and construction sector have fuelled hopes the UK will avoid a technical recession - defined as two successive quarters of negative economic growth. UK GDP contracted 0.3% in the final quarter of ...