Britain keeps interest rates at 0.5 %

The Bank of England maintained benchmark interest rates at 0.5 percent in April and made no change to its quantitative easing policy, it was announced on Thursday. Interest rates have now remained unchanged since March 2009. Economists expect the historically low rates to be held for at least another year given weak economic growth. Britain's central bank also announced an extension of its quantitative easing program, with another round of asset purchasing worth 325 billion pounds (514 billion U.S. dollars) this month. It added Britain's economy is unlikely to enter recession this year, forecasting growth of about 1.2 percent.