Interest rates held for sixth month

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5 per cent for the sixth month in a row.

It also announced it will be continuing with its £175 million quantitative easing programme, but confirmed no further money will be made available.

The funds are due to be spent in the next two months.

So far some £140 million has been created to buy government and corporate bonds by the Bank in a bid to push more funds into the economy and hold back deflation in the recession.

Recent figures have suggested Britain may finally be climbing out of recession, with data also released today showing house prices have risen for the second consecutive month.

Optimism has also been reflected in the FTSE 100 index moving past 5,000 points this week for the first tie since October last year.