BoE benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5 pct

The Bank of England (BoE), Britain's central bank, maintained the benchmark interest rate at the record low of 0.5 percent, with it unchanged for more than six years, BoE announced on Thursday.

The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by 8 to 1 to keep rates unchanged.

The Committee also voted unanimously to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at 375 billion pounds.

In its meeting summary, with inflation below the target, and the likelihood that at least some spare capacity remains in the economy, the MPC intends to set monetary policy so as to ensure that growth is sufficient to absorb any remaining underutilized resources.

"That will support domestic cost growth and its necessary to ensure that inflation is on track to return sustainably to the 2 percent target rate within two years", the meeting minutes said.

The Committee noticed a deterioration in the global demand environment would slow the pace of expansion further. It will continue to monitor international developments, as well as evidence concerning the resilience of the domestic economy, to set monetary policy as appropriate in the light of all of those factors. Endit