Bank of England holds base rate at 0.5 pct amid fears recovery will weaken in coming months

Bank of England keeps base rate at 0.5 pct

LONDON — The Bank of England is keeping its base interest rate at an all-time low of 0.5 percent.

The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said Thursday that it was extending the rate for the 18th month. One committee member who is worried about inflation currently running at 3.2 percent has been calling for a hike to 0.75 percent.

The low rate was intended to help pull the country out of recession, but now there are fears that the recovery will weaken in the second half of the year as the government embarks on severe cuts in spending.