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| UK interest rates remain at record low of 0.5% | UK interest rates remain at record low of 0.5% |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| UK interest rates have been held at 0.5% again by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. | UK interest rates have been held at 0.5% again by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. |
| Rates have now remained on hold for more than six years and the Bank is not expected to raise them until next year. | Rates have now remained on hold for more than six years and the Bank is not expected to raise them until next year. |
| Analysts say the Bank is under no pressure to raise rates yet with inflation near record lows. | Analysts say the Bank is under no pressure to raise rates yet with inflation near record lows. |
| Inflation, as measured by Consumer Prices Index, was all but flat at 0.1% in May. That was up from -0.1% in April but well below the Bank's 2% target. | Inflation, as measured by Consumer Prices Index, was all but flat at 0.1% in May. That was up from -0.1% in April but well below the Bank's 2% target. |
| However, in the Bank of England's inflation report in May, governor Mark Carney warned that inflation was expected to pick up notably towards the end of the year. | However, in the Bank of England's inflation report in May, governor Mark Carney warned that inflation was expected to pick up notably towards the end of the year. |
| The half-dozen years of ultra-low interest rates have cut returns on savings, but mortgage borrowers have benefited from lower repayments. | The half-dozen years of ultra-low interest rates have cut returns on savings, but mortgage borrowers have benefited from lower repayments. |
| Staying put? | |
| The Bank also left its money-printing stimulus programme, known as Quantitative Easing (QE), unchanged at £375bn. | |
| The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will reveal why it decided to leave policy as it is when it publishes the minutes of its meeting on 22 July. | |
| The minutes will also show if any of the nine-strong committee had any strong concerns about economic conditions. | |
| Revised official figures released last week showed the economy grew by 3% in 2014, revised up from an earlier estimate of 2.8%, and by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2015, revised up from 0.3%. | |
| However, the latest forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) revised its growth forecasts for 2015 down slightly to 2.4% from 2.5%. | |
| Also on the growth front, recent figures have shown a pick up in pay rises, which are at their highest for almost four years. | |
| Neither statistic though is strong enough on its own when coupled with flat inflation and continuing weak demand from the eurozone. | |
| Chris Williamson, from research firm Markit, said: "No statement was made but, with inflation at just 0.1%, the Bank's inflation target of 2.0% is clearly still a long way off and, with 'Grexit' concerns casting a dark cloud of instability over the economic outlook, now is clearly not the time for central banks to be causing further uncertainty. " |