Bank of England holds rate at record-low 0.50%

The Bank of England on Thursday voted to keep its key interest rate at a record-low 0.50 percent and to maintain its economic stimulus programme amid mixed signals for the British economy. The central bank kept the level of its asset purchasing plan, aimed at boosting lending among banks, at £325 billion (388 billion euros, $514 billion), it said in a statement after a two-day monetary policy meeting. "The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5 percent," the statement said. "The committee also voted to continue with its programme of asset purchases totalling £325 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves. "The committee expects the announced programme of asset purchases to take another month to complete. The scale of the programme will be kept under review," it added.