BOE to Keep Key Rate on Hold Until at Least May 2011, BCC Says

The Bank of England will keep its benchmark interest rate on hold until at least May 2011 as government spending cuts weigh on the economic recovery, the British Chambers of Commerce said.

“We now have in place a very tough fiscal policy and this makes the risks of a double-dip recession even greater,” BCC Chief Economist David Kern told reporters in London. “It makes it more necessary, policy wise, for the Bank of England to keep interest rates low.”