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BoE keeps interest rates, stimulus program steady

[June 06, 2013]  LONDON (AP) -- The Bank of England has opted not to pump more money into the British economy.

The decision Thursday came after the final Monetary Policy Committee meeting to be chaired by outgoing governor Mervyn King.

The policymakers approved keeping the base interest rate at 0.5 percent and declined to inject more money into the economy. The bank has pumped 375 billion pounds ($579 billion) into Britain's economy since 2009.

The stimulus plan -- known as quantitative easing -- is a program in which the government buys bonds from financial institutions, hoping they will lend.

King has voted in the past pushed for an increase, but has been outvoted.

Vicki Redwood, an analyst for Capital Economics, says policymakers are stuck in a state of limbo ahead of Mark Carney's arrival as governor.

[Associated Press]

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