This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7597841.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Bank keeps UK interest rate at 5% | Bank keeps UK interest rate at 5% |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 5% for a fifth month as it struggles to deal with a slowing economy and soaring inflation. | The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 5% for a fifth month as it struggles to deal with a slowing economy and soaring inflation. |
| But with reports signalling the economy is heading for recession, expectations are rising that the cost of borrowing will be cut by the end of the year. | But with reports signalling the economy is heading for recession, expectations are rising that the cost of borrowing will be cut by the end of the year. |
| Economic growth ground to a halt in the second quarter of this year, the worst performance since the early 1990s. | |
| However, inflation is more than double the Bank's target of 2%. | However, inflation is more than double the Bank's target of 2%. |
| Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic adviser, said the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee decision shows that it is still concerned about inflation, which is likely to rise to around 5% in coming months. | |
| "But as the autumn unfolds, the chances of a rate cut will increase, as the slowdown improves the inflation outlook for next year," he said. | "But as the autumn unfolds, the chances of a rate cut will increase, as the slowdown improves the inflation outlook for next year," he said. |
| The OECD has forecast that the UK economy will contract in the current quarter and the next - meeting the official definition of a recession. | |
| Chancellor Alistair Darling heightened concerns about the resilience of the economy when he said recently that conditions facing the UK and other countries were "arguably the worst in 60 years". | |
| Gloomy forecasts about the economy have hit the pound, which has been falling against the dollar and the euro, and has had its worst month against the US currency since 1992. |