Interest rates remain at 5.75 per cent

In a widely-expected move, interest rates have been held at 5.75 per cent, the Bank of England has announced.

Attention now turns to the Bank's long-term plans, with analysts unsure of the future direction of rate decisions.

Earlier this week Global Insight suggested that there currently existed two separate factions within the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that were looking to either raise rates or maintain the current level.

Commenting on today's decision, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets chief economist Trevor Williams suggested that the MPC was unlikely to act again in the near future.

"This situation of 'wait and see' should persist for some months," Mr Williams commented.

Conversely, David Kern, economic adviser to the British Chambers of Commerce, said that the group remained "very concerned" that the Bank would raise rates to six per cent later in the year and urged the MPC to adopt "a cautious stance".



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