The Bank of England on Thursday froze interest rates at a record—low 0.50 per cent, where borrowing costs have stood for four years, and maintained its emergency stimulus programme as the British economy teeters on the brink of a triple-dip recession.
The announcement came on the same day that Prime Minister David Cameron pledged that his coalition government would stick to its harsh austerity measures despite a turbulent few weeks that saw Britain lose its top-level AAA credit rating.
The BoE revealed in a statement that its nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to maintain its reference lending rate after a two-day meeting.
The panel also decided against changing its asset purchasing programme, or quantitative easing (QE), which stands at $589 billion.
Economists said the QE decision had been on a knife—edge with Britain at risk of its third recession since 2009, and after outgoing BoE governor Mervyn King had called unsuccessfully for more stimulus funds in February.