The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5 per cent and the asset purchase programme at £375bn. The base rate has remained at this figure for the past four years. The base rate has been unchanged since March 2009 while the most recent addition to the asset purchase programme was made in July 2012. The decision was made by the Monetary Policy Committee during its meeting on 6-7 March. It is not known if the decision was split but last month, three members of the committee, including governor Mervyn King voted for an increase to the asset purchase programme by £25bn. Further details of the MPC meeting will be given in the minutes on 20 March and the next meeting will be held on 4-5 April. Bank of England governor was in Parliament yesterday giving evidence to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. He was joined by Andrew Bailey, future deputy governor of the Bank of England. Stephen Gifford, CBI Director of Economics said: “A combination of mixed economic data and the MPC’s recent tilt in a more dovish direction, is likely to have made this decision a close call. “With only a modest pick-up in growth expected, the possibility of further QE will remain a live issue.”
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