Key banks in Europe decided Thursday to keep their official lending rates unchanged, signaling their concern over inflation rates.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted Thursday to leave the central bank's key lending rate unchanged at 5 percent.

The bank last adjusted the key interest rate with a 0.25 percent cut in April.

A brief bank statement didn't explain the decision. Minutes for the Monetary Policy Committee meetings are generally made available two weeks after the meetings.

The European Central Bank also kept key rates unchanged Thursday, holding to its 4 percent rate for the 15 euro-zone countries.

Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon to explain the bank's position, the central bank's statement said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International


Publication date: 08 May 2008   

Source: UPI-1-20080508-12160100-bc-britain-boe-1stld.xml

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