Interest rates remain on hold at 0.5%

Base rates have now been at this record low level since March 2009. The central bank gave no indication on when it might raise the interest rate despite speculation it would refine its threshold for increasing it. The Bank said in August it will not think about raising rates until unemployment falls to 7%. At the time it predicted the threshold would not be reached until 2016. However, the unemployment rate has already fallen to 7.4%, the lowest rate since April 2009, and some experts predict it could reach 7% this year. Jeremy Cook, chief economist at the currency broker, World...