Bank of England holds interest rates steady at 0.5 percent; increases asset purchase program

Bank of England increases asset purchase program

LONDON — The Bank of England has kept official interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5 percent — but has increased its program to buy back assets to increase the domestic money supply.

At the end of its monthly rate-setting meeting on Thursday, the bank said it is increasing the size of its so-called quantitative easing program by 50 billion pounds ($75.4 billion) to 125 billion pounds.

The bank says that the world remains in “deep recession,” but there are some “promising signs that the pace of decline has begun to moderate.”