Interest rates now one year at 0.5%

The Bank also confirmed it will not be furthering its quantitative easing programme. Monetary policymakers first cut the base rate to 0.5% - the lowest in its 300-year history - in March 2009. Though inflation rose to 3.5% in January, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is concerned about the effects a rate rise could have on the fragile economic recovery. The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the economy grew by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2009. The recovery is stronger than an initial 0.1% estimate, but the economic situation remains diffic...