The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has again voted to keep the Bank Rate at 0.5%.

It has now been at this rate for 16 months.

The MPC also voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves – so-called ‘quantitative easing’ – at £200 billion.

Edward Menashy, chief economist of Charles Stanley, said: “Markets must await the voting decision of the Committee which is due on the 21st July 2010 to establish whether