BOE Keeps Stimulus to Aid Recovery in Budget Squeeze

The Bank of England kept its bond- stimulus plan in place and left its benchmark interest rate at a record low as officials sustained emergency aid for the economy during the biggest budget squeeze since World War II.

The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Mervyn King, held the target for bond holdings at 200 billion pounds ($318 billion), matching the median estimate of 34 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The bank kept the key interest rate at 0.5 percent.