A woman wearing a protective mask crosses the road in front of the Bank of England on March 17, 2020, during the morning rush hour in the City of London. The UK financial sector is unusually calm following a government request. Everyone else except yesterday for essential trips and activities.
Jonathan Perugia
The UK Central Bank has kept interest rates stable as England enters a new era of national lockdown measures aimed at the country’s economic recovery.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England (BOE) has voted to raise its asset purchase target to $ 895 billion, while maintaining the key lending rate at 0.1 per cent.
The BOE said in September that it was exploring the possibility of taking rates below zero if necessary, and asked British banks to prepare for negative interest rates.
Since the onset of the corona virus pandemic in March, the bank has halved interest rates from 0.75 per cent to 0.1 per cent.
The British economy grew 2.1 percent in August. The National Statistics Office released an unprecedented 19.8 percent contraction in the second quarter, according to data released last month.
The BOE on Thursday forecast 2021 GDP (GDP) growth of 7.25 per cent. This was revised from the +9 per cent expected at the August meeting. However, GDP is expected to grow by 6.25 per cent in 2022.
The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new lockdown in England from Thursday to December 2, as cases rise again in the country. 492 people died in the UK on Wednesday. Kovid-19 had the highest death toll in May at 19, with 25,177 new cases confirmed.
The BEE now expects unemployment to rise to 7.75 per cent in the second quarter of 2021.
Prone to fits of apathy. Unable to type with boxing gloves on. Internet advocate. Avid travel enthusiast. Entrepreneur. Music expert.
