BOE keeps rate at 0.5% and ?375bn in asset purchases

The Bank of England decides to keep its interest rate at 0.5%, which it had set in March 2009. At its Thursday meeting, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to stick to its plan to keep interest rates at a record-low until employment picks up. The committee also decided to make no change to its asset purchases at 375 billion pounds, or just a little under 600 billion US dollars. New BOE governor Mark Carney vowed in August that the bank would not raise interest rates until the 7.7% unemployment rate falls below 7%. Analysts say Britain’s economy has shown signs of recovery, as reflected by the IMF’s latest forecast of 1.4 percent growth this year and 1.9% for 2014. This is the biggest raise by the IMF among advanced economies. The growing prospects mean Britain might be able to bring its unemployment rate down below 7% before late 2016. It is also unlikely to buy more assets in the future.