Bank Of England Holds Key Rate At 0.25% In 6-2 Vote; Pound Drops

The Bank of England on Thursday left its key interest rate at 0.25%, meeting widely held expectations. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-2 to leave the rate at an historic low. The central bank also left unchanged the size of its asset purchase program at �435 billion ($576 billion) and its corporate-bond purchase program at �10 billion. "The MPC expects inflation to rise further in coming months and to peak around 3% in October, as the past depreciation of sterling continues to pass through to consumer prices," the bank said in a statement. The pound fell to $1.3166 from $1.3235 ahead of the decision. Sterling late Wednesday traded at $1.3224.