BCE kept it benchmark interest rate unchanged
13 January 2012
Bank of England refrained from adding to emergency stimulus again as policy makers await new forecasts and the economy showed some resilience heading into 2012. The Monetary Policy Committee maintained its bond-purchase target at 275 billion pounds, as expected. The Bank of England also kept its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.5 percent, also in line with expectations. Bank of England policy makers will publish new growth and inflation projections next month. They have forecast that inflation, at 4.8 percent in November, will slow “sharply” this year. Based on its current stimulus, the central bank sees consumer-price growth at 1.7 percent at end of 2012, below its 2 percent goal, and 1.3 percent at the end of 2013.