The Bank of England has announced UK interest rates will remain at 0.5%.

The Bank of England has announced that the UK interest rate will remain at 0.5% for the seventh month in a row.

As many analysts had predicted, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee decided today (8 October) to hold the bank rate at 0.5% yet again.

The bank also announced that it would continue with the £175 billion Asset Purchase Programme, to inject more money into the UK economy, which will take another month to complete. 

In August, the Bank decided to inject a further £50bn into its quantative easing programme. Some commentators have complained about the apparent lack of significant success the programme has had thus far.

Economists had expected the interest rate to stay at its historic low for its seventh consecutive month as the progress of the UK’s economic recovery remains unsettled.

Figures to be released later this month by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will confirm whether the recession in the UK has ended.

September rises in new car sales and house prices could indicate that the UK economy is expanding, but official results earlier this month reported that industrial output actually fell in August.

The economy contracted 2.4% between January and March, and declined a further 0.6% between April and June this year.