Base rate – one year at 0.5 per cent

The Bank of England' Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep the base rate at 0.5 per cent. It has now been at the lowest rate ever for one year.  The MPC also decided not to make any change to quantitative easing, also referred to as 'printing money'. This was a programme of asset purchases [...]

The Bank of England' Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep the base rate at 0.5 per cent.

It has now been at the lowest rate ever for one year. 

The MPC also decided not to make any change to quantitative easing, also referred to as 'printing money'. This was a programme of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves initiated on 5 March 2009 -  at the same time base rate was reduced to 0.5%.

The most recent change in the size of that programme was an increase of £25 billion to a total of £200 billion on 5 November 2009.