Investing.com – The Bank of England held its key interest rate at a record low on Thursday, in a bid to shield the U.K. economy from the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.
BoE governor Mervyn King's widely expected move to keep the Official Bank rate unchanged at 0.5% came as the new British coalition government prepares an emergency budget, in order to tackle what the ratings agency Fitch has called a “formidable” debt burden.
The central bank also left its quantitative easing program unchanged at GBP 200 billion.
Following the decision, sterling was up against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD advancing 0.71% to reach 1.4633.
BoE governor Mervyn King's widely expected move to keep the Official Bank rate unchanged at 0.5% came as the new British coalition government prepares an emergency budget, in order to tackle what the ratings agency Fitch has called a “formidable” debt burden.
The central bank also left its quantitative easing program unchanged at GBP 200 billion.
Following the decision, sterling was up against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD advancing 0.71% to reach 1.4633.