Bank of England to decide rates

The Bank has kept interest rates at 0.5% to aid the recovery The Bank of England will announce later whether it will raise interest rates, but is expected to keep the cost of borrowing at a record low of 0.5%. The Bank is also expected to say it will not pump any more money into the economy under its quantitative easing (QE) programme, for now at least.

Last month the Bank said it was halting the programme, having spent 200bn to boost the economy. It added the programme may be extended in the future, if needed.

Record lows. The Bank is unlikely to change interest rates, as any rise in the cost of borrowing could jeopardise the fragile economic recovery, economists believe. Figures released last week showed that the UK economy grew by 0.3% in the final three months of last year, compared with an initial estimate of 0.1% growth. But although the 0.3% growth in the final quarter of 2009 was stronger than previously thought, the Bank believes that continued economic growth is not yet guaranteed.