A spike in consumer spending driven by warm weather and England's surprise run to the semifinals of the soccer World Cup helped the British economy post its best growth in nearly two years during the third quarter, official figures showed on Friday.
The Bank of England opted this week to keep its main interest rate at a record-low level of 0.50% against a backdrop of solid British economic growth. The central bank's nine-member monetary policy committee decided also to maintain the level of cash stimulus in the economy at £375 billion, it said in a statement.