Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold at 0.1%

Rate-setting committee says rapid rise in Covid-19 infections will deliver bigger hit to UK economy than forecast

The Bank of England has kept interest rates at the lowest levels on record after warning that rapid growth in coronavirus infections will deliver a bigger hit to the UK economy than expected in the final months of 2020.

Threadneedle Street's monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the official interest rate on hold at 0.1% while also leaving the Bank's quantitative easing bond-buying programme unchanged at 895bn after pumping an additional 150bn into the economy last month.