MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bank of England leaves rates and QE program unchanged

The bank has warned that the UK economy recovery will be “slow and protracted”

The Bank of England has held UK interest rates at the record low of 0.5% in a widely-expected move. It also announced no changes to its program of pumping newly-created money into the economy - so-called quantitative easing (QE).

In November, the Bank of England said it would inject another £25 billion, taking the total planned under QE to £200 billion.

The Bank cut interest rates to 0.5% in March in an attempt to boost the recession-hit economy.

Under QE, the Bank of England prints money to buy assets from banks and other companies to stimulate the economy.

The bank is expected to wait until the current QE programme runs out in January before considering whether it should be expanded.

The Bank of England recently warned that the recovery would be “slow and protracted” and that it would take months for the full impact of its policies to be felt.

The British Chambers of Commerce have accused the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee and the government for not going far enough to help recovery.

“One critical factor delaying our exit from recession is the difficulties creditworthy small and mid-sized firms face trying to obtain adequate finance. This issue must be addressed quickly to ensure that a recovery gets under way,” said Chief Economist David Kern.