BoE holds interest rates at 0.5%

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also made no changes to its quantitative easing programme, which currently stands at £200bn. Rates were widely expected to remain at 0.5%, as the MPC awaits the latest figures on economic growth. It is thought the UK left recession in the final quarter of 2009. However, rising inflation means many analysts are predicting interest rate rises later this year.