Bank of England leaves rates unchanged

[January 10, 2013]  LONDON (AP) -- The Bank of England has left its base interest rate and its monetary stimulus program unchanged, as widely anticipated by analysts.

The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee left the key rate at 0.5 percent, where it has been since March 2009, at its monthly policy meeting on Thursday.

The Bank of England's stimulus program, called quantitative easing, was also not increased from its current 375 billion pounds ($604 billion). The program involves purchases of government bonds from banks to increase the amount of money in the economy and favor an increase in lending.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.