Bank of England holds interest rate at 0.50%

The Bank of England on Thursday voted to keep its main interest rate at 0.50 percent, five years after deciding to cut borrowing costs to the current record-low level. Policymakers agreed by majority also to maintain the level of central bank stimulus pumping around the British economy at £375 billion ($627 billion, 456 billion euros), the BoE said in a statement following a regular monthly meeting. "The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain Bank Rate at 0.5 percent," the brief statement said. "The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £375 billion." Minutes of the two-day meeting, containing reasons for the decisions, will be published on March 19, the BoE added.